HELPS 

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AMBITIOUS 
GIRLS 


bjf  WILLIAM  DRYSDALE 


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BOOKS    BY   WILLIAM    DRYSDALE 

Helps  for  Ambitious  Girls 
Illustrated  with  portraits 


Helps  for  Ambitious  Boys 
Illustrated  with  portraits 


Pine  Ridge  Plantation: 
"The  "Trials  and  Successes  of 
a  Young  Cotton  Planter 

With  eight  illustrations 


CAROLINE    HAZARD. 


HELPS   FOR 


AMBITIOUS   GIKLS 


BY 


WILLIAM    DRYSDALE 

Author  of  "  Helps  for  Ambitious  Bots," 
"  The  Young  Reporter,"  etc. 


e^ 


NEW  YORK 

THOMAS  Y.  CROWELL  COMPANY 

PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT,  1900, 

By  Thomas  Y.  Croweix  &  Co. 


Fifth  Thousand. 


p<*»c.  <tept. 


INTRODUCTION. 


In  preparing  this  volume  the  writer  has  borne  in 
mind  the  fact  that  the  Ambitious  Girl,  regarded  as  a 
unit,  has  a  home  and  a  mother.  It  is  his  belief  that 
the  home  influence,  the  mother  influence,  is  of  inestim- 
ably more  importance  to  her  than  any  wealth  or  position 
that  she  can  possibly  achieve.  That  in  those  compara- 
tively few  cases  in  which  Providence  has  deprived  her 
of  these  blessings,  Providence  will,  if  asked,  give  her  the 
special  guidance  of  which  she  is  in  sore  need. 

Going  into  business,  into  a  profession,  into  work  of 
any  kind,  does  not  necessarily  sever  the  home  connec- 
tion. If  it  did  the  writer  would  be  one  of  the  first  to 
advise  every  girl  to  stay  at  home.  Nothing  in  life 
should  be  allowed  to  break  that  connection.  Better 
throw  everything  to  the  winds  than  cut  the  wire  that 
runs  to  the  home.  But  the  girl  who  goes  away  to  school 
does  not  necessarily  cut  that  wire.  Though  bodily  ab- 
sent, the  home  influence  is  still  upon  her ;  and  when  her 
going  away  is  for  work  instead  of  for  education,  she  may 
keep  that  influence  still  about  her  if  she  will.  Whether 
at  study  or  at  work,  home  should  be  to  her  the  centre  of 
the  earth. 

No  matter  where  the  home  is,  nor  who  the  home- 
makers.  Though  the  father  delve  and  the  mother  dig, 
their  knowledge  is  incomparably  greater  than  that  of  the 
girl  fresh  from  college,  and  the  leader  of  her  class.     Not 


£"%  f^  *^  y-%. 


IV  INTRODUCTION. 

their  learning,  but  their  knowledge  of  the  world  and  its 
ways,  which  is  of  far  more  importance.  The  extremely 
learned  girl,  especially  if  her  learning  be  accompanied 
by  pertness  and  undue  self-sufficiency,  is  not  always  the 
most  adorable  of  God's  creatures.  The  model  is  the  true, 
gentle  child  of  the  home,  whether  she  works  or  whether 
she  does  not  work. 

The  educated  girl  is  trained  in  the  household  arts; 
without  that  training  she  is  not  educated.  The  daughter 
of  wealth  is  early  taught  the  most  ladylike  of  all  accom- 
plishments, the  management  of  a  household.  It  is  only 
the  daughter  of  genteel  poverty  who  is  sometimes  de- 
barred from  this  privilege. 

Women's  clubs  pay  no  wages  —  the  Ambitious  Girl 
should  remember  that.  Organization  is  a'dmirable,  but 
it  has  no  pay-roll ;  it  is  a  side  issue.  The  whole  Federa- 
tion of  Women's  Clubs  is  of  less  importance  to  a  girl 
than  her  own  affairs.  A  club  is  easily  joined,  but  em- 
ployment must  be  prepared  for  and  sought  for.  The 
new  woman  exists  only  in  the  comic  newspapers  ;  we 
must  learn  to  paint  the  lily  and  gild  refined  gold  before 
we  can  improve  upon  the  kind  of  woman  our  mothers 
were. 

The  ambitious  boy  and  the  ambitious  girl  go  into  the 
world  side  by  side,  and  in  many  cases  they  will  go  hand 
in  hand.  When  they  join  hands  their  first  effort  will  be 
to  establish  a  home,  and  that  is  girl's  work.  A  girl  with 
a  dollar  can  make  a  more  homelike  home  than  a  man 
with  a  million.  Work  brings  money,  but  only  the  home 
brings  happiness.  And  the  whole  field  of  endeavor  is 
open  to  the  Ambitious  Girl.  It  is  not  all  her  boys,  but 
all  her  children,  —  boys  and  girls  alike, — that  Nature 
fits  with  something  to  do. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  A  Girl's  Health 1 

II.  Health  the  First  Requisite  to  Success       .     .  9 

III.  The  Best  Education 21 

IV.  Education  —  an   Ornament   in   Prosperity  and 

a  Refuge  in  Adversity 55 

V.  Dress  and    Demeanor    in    Business    and   Pro- 
fessional Life        67 

VI.  "O'erstep  not  the  Modesty  of  Nature"     .     .  73 

VII.  The  Care  of  a  Household 86 

VIII.  "Here's  to  the  Housewife  that's  Thrifty".  103 

IX.  Teaching 114 

X.  Roads  to  Success  in  the  School-Room         .     .  139 

XI.  The  Trained  Nurse 151 

XII.  The  Nurse's  Life-Work 170 

XIII.  The  Woman  Lawyer 180 

XIV.  In  Office  and  in  Court 209 

XV.  The  Woman  Doctor 215 

XVI.  The  Healer's  Mission 242 

XVII.  Music — Vocal  and  Instrumental 248 

XVIII.  "How  Many  a  Tale  their  Music  Tells!"  .     .  260 

XIX.  Art  at  Home  and  Abroad 267 

XX.  With  Brush  and  Chisel 289 

XXI.  Literature        295 

XXII.  The  World  of  Letters 301 

XXIII.  The  Newspaper  Woman 308 

XXIV.  The  Journalist's  Work 313 

XXV.  Dentistry 319 

v 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

XXVI.     The  Dentist's  Opportunity 335 

XXVII.     Woman  in  Politics 341 

XXVIII.     The  Political  Field 345 

XXIX.     Woman  in  the  Pulpit 351 

XXX.     Pulpit  and  Pew 374 

XXXI.     Stenography  and  Typewriting 380 

XXXII.     Speed,  Skill,  and  Patience 389 

XXXIII.  Agriculture  and  Floriculture 395 

XXXIV.  Work  in  Nature's  Fields 420 

XXXV.     The  Fashionable  Dressmaker 427 

XXXVI.     The  Costumer's  Chances 435 

XXXVII.     Millinery 441 

XXXVIII.  Fickle  Fashion's  Wage   to  Many  Workers,  448 

XXXIX.     Domestic  Industries 454 

XL.     Home  Wage-earning 479 

XLI.     Photography 485 

XLII.     Work  with  the  Camera 489 

XLIII.     Business  Life 495 

XLIV.     Helps  for  Business  Aspirants 500 


HELPS    FOR   AMBITIOUS    GIRLS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


"  The  joy  of  youth  and  health  her  eyes  display'd, 
And  ease  of  heart  her  every  look  convey 'd." 

Crabbe. 

Health  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  physical  strength. 
A  girl  may  be  as  healthy  as  any  man  alive  and  yet  may 
not  be  able  to  carry  a  small  trunk  up  a  flight  of  stairs. 
A  girl  may  be  in  perfect  health  and  still  have  scarcely  any 
development  of  muscle.  In  the  long  race  endurance  and 
pluck  are  of  more  account  than  muscle.  Long  before 
you  were  born,  unless  you  are  old  enough  to  vote,  I  was 
a  reporter  in  a  newspaper  office  in  which  another  of  the 
reporters  was  Edward  Pay  son  Weston,  the  first  of  the 
long-distance  pedestrians.  Few  men  have  smaller  mus- 
cular development  in  their  lower  limbs  than  he  had,  but 
with  his  broomstick  limbs  he  could  and  frequently  did 
walk  five  hundred  miles  in  six  days.  "  Muscles  are  only 
traps  to  catch  rheumatism  in,"  he  used  to  say.  You 
need  not  worry  because  you  cannot  bring  up  a  hard  lump 
of  muscle  in  your  arm.     You  do  not  need  it. 

General  health,  which  means  a  healthy  condition  of 
the  whole  body,  is  of  far  more  importance  than  muscu- 
lar strength.  If  you  keep  your  body  in  order  with 
plenty  of  fresh  air  and  moderate  exercise  and  whole- 
some food,  you  will  have  all  the  strength  you  are  likely 
to  need.     There  is  no  harder  work  that  the  male  laborer 


Z  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

does  than  carrying  hods  of  bricks  to  the  top  of  a  build- 
ing. Probably  you  could  not  carry  up  a  single  load; 
but  I  think  you  could  carry  as  many  loads  to  the  top  as 
President  McKinley  could,  or  ex-President  Cleveland,  or 
Senator  Depew,  or  Senator  Mark  Hanna,  and  they  have 
all  done  reasonably  well  in  life.  We  do  not  hear  them 
complain  because  they  cannot  carry  up  bricks.  No  more 
need  you,  if  you  have  as  much  strength  as  your  occupa- 
tion requires. 

Plenty  of  fresh  air,  moderate  exercise,  wholesome 
food ;  those  are  enough  rules  for  either  girl  or  boy  for 
the  preservation  of  health.  And  they  are  good  rules  for 
the  healthiest  girl  alive.  Do  not  make  the  mistake  of 
thinking  yourself  so  healthy  that  you  need  pay  no  atten- 
tion to  your  physical  self.  The  trouble  about  that  mis- 
take is  that  generally  it  is  not  discovered  till  too  late. 
There  is  some  organ  that  is  a  little  weaker  than  the 
rest  in  nearly  every  human  being,  and  the  more  you  let 
your  general  health  "  run  down,"  the  sooner  the  weak 
spots  begin  to  show.  You  are  not  like  an  American 
watch,  in  which  any  defective  part  can  be  replaced ;  but 
if  you  keep  the  whole  machine  well  oiled  with  air,  exer- 
cise, and  food  the  weaker  parts  can  be  strengthened,  and 
you  may  never  discover  that  they  are  defective.  If  you 
waste  your  strength  while  young,  the  weak  points  will 
show  themselves  before  you  reach  middle  age. 

There  are  many  view-points  from  which  to  consider 
the  fresh-air  question.  Pure  air  is  plentiful,  even  in  the 
largest  cities,  but  we  do  not  always  get  it.  When  the 
doctor  tells  you  to  take  plenty  of  fresh  air,  he  means 
that  you  shall  be  outdoors  ;  but  in  this  climate  more 
than  half  of  our  lives  usually  is  spent  indoors,  and  pure 
air  is  just  as  important  within  as  without.  Most  likely 
your  own  experience  has  shown  you  that  when  you  sleep 
in  a  small  room  with  all  the  doors  and  windows  tightly 


A   GIRVS  HEALTH.  3 

closed  you  feel  heavy  and  stupid  in  the  morning,  with  a 
headache  ;  and  that  when  you  have  ventilation  and  plenty 
of  pure  air  all  night  you  feel  much  brighter  in  the  morn- 
ing, better  physically  and  mentally.  But  to  sleep  with 
everything  tight  closed,  as  many  people  do,  is  hardly 
worse  than  the  opposite  extreme  of  having  all  the  win- 
dows wide  open  all  winter  long,  as  some  other  people 
do,  and  occasionally  finding  snow-drifts  on  the  bed  in 
the  morning.  There  is  a  happy  medium  between  these 
two  extremes ;  and  it  is  the  middle  course  that  you  will 
generally  find  safest. 

Most  offices  and  business  places  in  this  country  are 
kept  extremely  warm  in  winter,  and  you  will  find  that 
one  of  the  dangers  you  must  try  to  avoid  when  your 
business  life  begins.  In  a  large  office  you  will  not  be 
able  to  control  the  temperature;  but  you  can  greatly 
lessen  the  danger  to  yourself  by  providing  warm  wraps 
to  put  on  before  going  out.  Do  not  think  that  you  can 
"  harden  yourself  "  by  going  out  of  a  hot  room  into  the 
cold  air  without  additional  clothing.  The  process  of 
"  hardening  "  the  delicate  body  is  always  dangerous,  and 
usually  leads  to  misfortune.  Many  people  in  outdoor 
employments  (and  of  course  they  are  generally  men) 
are  hardened  to  the  weather,  as  we  call  it,  but  in  ninety- 
nine  cases  out  of  a  hundred  they  become  old  men  before 
they  reach  middle  age.  They  are  rheumatism  traps  that 
have  caught  their  game.  In  this  hardening  also  there  is 
a  middle  course.  Business  will  take  you  out  into  rain- 
storms and  blizzards  often  enough  without  your  seeking 
them.  For  your  regular  exercise  in  the  open  air  there 
are  plenty  of  fine  days  without  your  trying  to  harden 
yourself  by  unnecessary  exposure.  On  doubtful  days 
remember  that  the  modern  coverings  of  India  rubber 
from  head  to  foot  are  necessaries,  not  luxuries. 

You  have  not  reached  your  mature  age  without  hear- 


4  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

ing  the  expression,  "too  much  of  a  good  thing."  That 
applies  to  exercise  as  well  as  to  other  things.  Moderate 
exercise  is  a  good  thing,  but  too  much  exercise  may  be 
worse  than  too  little.  All  the  good  you  derive  from  a 
pleasure  trip  on  your  bicycle  may  be  more  than  counter- 
balanced by  the  fatigue  of  a  century  run.  To  walk  a 
mile  or  two  is  excellent  exercise  for  all  parts  of  the  body, 
but  if  you  increase  the  distance  suddenly  to  ten  miles 
you  are  likely  to  feel  the  bad  effects  of  it. 

Every  exercise  that  is  necessary  for  your  health  is 
within  your  reach.  You  have  a  hundredfold  more  oppor- 
tunities for  outdoor  exercise  than  your  mother  had,  or 
your  grandmother.  If  nothing  else  is  convenient  for 
you,  walk.  No  girl  is  so  poor  or  so  busy  but  that  she 
can  walk  every  suitable  day,  and  in  walking  there  is 
sufficient  exercise  for  the  preservation  of  health  in  man 
or  woman.  Within  reach  of  most  girls  is  a  gymnasium 
for  women,  but  that  is  a  luxury,  not  a  necessity.  If  you 
have  some  outdoor  exercise  every  suitable  day,  though  it 
be  only  the  exercise  of  walking  to  school  or  office,  the 
gymnasium  is  purely  a  luxury.  You  will  find  pleasure 
there  and  build  up  muscles  ;  but  that  building  of  muscle 
should  not  be  undertaken  by  a  girl  without  a  competent 
instructor.  You  can  build  up  any  set  of  muscles  you 
choose  if  you  have  the  pluck  to  give  them  enough  exer- 
cise, but  an  instructor  is  not  competent  who  lets  you 
build  up  one  set  at  the  expense  of  the  other s;  and  so 
destroy  the  symmetrical  shape  that  Nature  has  given  you. 

Let  me  make  this  clear  by  citing  an  example.  Young 
men  who  belong  to  boat  clubs  soon  find  that  the  rowing 
gives  them  large,  hard  muscles  in  the  upper  arms.  But  it 
gives  scarcely  any  exercise  to  the  leg,  and  without 
caution  they  would  have  powerful  bodies  supported  on 
broomsticks.  To  equalize  matters  they  give  special  exer- 
cise to  the  lower  limbs,  raising  themselves  on  their  toes 


A    GIRL'S  HEALTH.  5 

hundreds  of  times,  often  thousands,  every  day.  This 
develops  the  muscles  of  the  calf  of  the  leg.  Now  sup- 
pose that  you  were  to  practise  this  toe-raising  a  few 
hundred  times  every  day  for  six  months,  without  paying 
any  attention  to  your  other  muscles.  You  would  become 
a  subject  for  an  anatomical  museum  rather  than  a  strong 
and  symmetrical  girl.  If  you  give  unusual  development 
to  any  of  your  muscles,  give  it  to  them  all.  It  is  not 
necessary  for  any  of  your  muscles  to  be  specially  en- 
larged, unless  you  intend  to  be  a  motorman  or  a  'long- 
shoreman. There  is  something  up  in  the  top  of  your 
head,  something  that  controls  the  muscles,  that  is  better 
worthy  of  your  attention. 

In  the  matter  of  food  you  are  a  young  millionaire, 
simply  because  you  are  an  American  girl.  In  no  other 
part  of  the  world,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  it,  is  there  such 
an  abundance  and  such  variety  of  food  as  in  this.  If 
you  live  in  a  rear  tenement  house  on  two  dollars  a  week 
you  almost  certainly  have  more  and  better  food  than  the 
majority  of  girls  in  other  lands.  I  have  seen  a  French 
girl  of  your  age  —  say  about  twenty,  at  a  venture  —  mak- 
ing her  breakfast  day  after  day  on  one-third  of  a  loaf  of 
dry  bread,  —  not  a  beggar,  but  a  well-dressed  girl  carry- 
ing a  silk  umbrella.  That  was  dry  fare,  but  better  than 
the  Italian  girl's  handful  of  chestnuts,  or  the  East  Indian 
girl's  handful  of  rice  when  she  can  get  it,  or  the  West 
Indian  girl's  slice  of  cocoanut.  The  working  girl  in  Lon- 
don breakfasts  about  seven  mornings  in  the  week  on  a 
penny's  worth  of  onions,  which  she  fries  herself,  and  a 
penny's  worth  of  rolls,  because  that  is  the  most  nourish- 
ing food  she  can  get  for  the  money.  Her  purse  gives  her 
more  anxiety  than  her  stomach. 

But  with  you,  who  look  solemn  when  there  is  no  cran- 
berry sauce  with  the  turkey,  you  who  have  been  put  by 
providence  in  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey  and 


6  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

better  things,  the  danger  is  not  that  you  will  suffer  for 
want  of  food,  but  that  you  will  suffer  from  taking  too 
much  of  the  wrong  kinds.  Very  likely  you  can  eat  almost 
anything  you  want  now  without  feeling  ill  effects,  because 
you  are  young  and  have  plenty  of  exercise.  When  you 
go  into  business  and  have  less  exercise  because  you  have 
less  time  for  it,  you  will  begin  to  learn  what  you  may  eat 
with  impunity  and  what  you  may  not.  And  before  you 
are  forty  you  will  have  a  long  list  of  things  that  cannot 
be  eaten  without  inward  tribulation,  whether  you  have 
exercise  or  not. 

jNo  guide  to  health  can  be  of  as  much  use  to  you  as  your 
own  good  common  sense.  When  you  find  that  anything  you 
eat  is  hurting  you,  the  rational  method  is  to  let  it  alone. 
The  doctor  who  talks  with  you  for  ten  minutes  and  feels 
your  pulse  cannot  possibly  know  what  your  stomach  will 
bear  as  well  as  you  know  yourself.  But  if  he  is  a  good 
doctor  he  will  advise  you  to  take  everything  in  modera- 
tion. When  kind  fortune  brings  you  a  box  of  chocolate 
creams  you  need  not  feel  that  you  are  a  desperate 
criminal  if  you  eat  them  ;  but  if  you  eat  them  all  at  once 
your  feelings  will  probably  make  themselves  plain. 

Four  hundred  years  before  the  time  of  Christ  Euripides 
discovered  that  "  moderation  is  the  noblest  gift  of 
Heaven."  Probably  Adam  made  the  same  discovery, 
though  he  left  us  no  record  of  it.  It  is  a  truth  that  is 
forced  upon  every  human  being  —  moderation  in  food,  in 
exercise,  even  in  fresh  air.  You  must  be  moderate  in 
everything  if  you  would  be  well  and  strong.  Anything 
that  interferes  with  your  work  must  be  avoided.  If  you 
have  long  columns  of  figures  to  add  up  in  the  afternoon, 
and  you  find  that  plum  pudding  for  lunch  makes  you 
heavy  and  stupid,  let  the  plum  pudding  alone.  Let  every- 
thing alone  that  interferes  with  your  health  and  con- 
sequently with  your  work. 


A   GIBL'S  HEALTH.  7 

"But  must  I  avoid  some  of  my  favorite  dishes  just 
because  they  make  me  feel  heavy  ?  "  perhaps  you  would 
ask.  Yes,  at  those  hours  when  your  heaviness  would 
interfere  with  your  work  you  must  avoid  them.  We 
all  have  to  do  that ;  and  the  more  anxious  we  are  for 
success,  the  more  careful  we  must  be.  You  are  not 
willing  to  let  a  dish  of  plum  pudding  or  a  slice  of  mince 
pie  interfere  with  your  success,  are  you  ?  As  far  as  the 
work  is  concerned,  the  male  clerk  who  comes  back  from 
lunch  half  tipsy  is  quite  as  useful  as  you  would  be  if 
you  came  back  full  of  heavy,  rich  food  to  make  you  dull 
and  stupid.  You  have  not  so  much  intellect  —  no  one 
has  —  that  you  can  afford  to  let  half  of  it-sleep  in  business 
hours.  Can  you  imagine  a  great  surgeon  eating  a  heavy 
dinner  before  going  out  to  perform  a  dangerous  opera- 
tion ?  Actors  in  the  theatre  eat  a  heavy  supper  after  the 
play  because  experience  tells  them  that  if  they  eat  for 
some  hours  before  the  performance  they  cannot  do  their 
best.  At  any  of  the  big  state  dinners  in  fashionable 
restaurants  in  the  cities  three  or  four  of  the  guests  may 
always  be  seen  making  the  merest  pretence  of  eating, 
picking  carelessly  at  a  few  dishes  while  their  neighbors 
are  gorging  themselves,  drinking  a  cup  of  tea  or  a  glass 
of  Apollinaris  while  their  neighbors  drink  champagne. 
Those  are  the  speakers  who  are  to  reply  to  the  principal 
toasts.  They  know  that  if  they  eat  and  drink  like  the 
others  they  cannot  do  themselves  justice,  so  they  restrain 
themselves.  And  mark  you  it  is  this  restraint,  this 
moderation,  that  has  had  much  to  do  with  making  them 
prominent  enough  to  be  invited  to  speak  at  such  dinners. 
They  avoid  what  would  interfere  with  their  work ;  so 
must  you. 

"  Good  health  and  good  sense  are  two  of  life's  greatest 
blessings,"  said  the  ancient  Publius  Syrus ;  and  if  you 
are  inclined  to  sneer  at  Publius  because  he  was  an  ancient 


8  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

you  will  do  well  to  learn  something  about  him.  When 
you  go  to  see  a  Shakespearian  play  you  are  surprised  to 
hear  so  many  familiar  sayings ;  but  when  you  introduce 
yourself  to  Publius  Syrus  you  will  be  surprised  again  to 
learn  how  many  of  Shakespeare's  best  sayings  were 
taken  bodily  from  his  writings.  People  knew  something 
in  those  old  times,  though  with  our  native  modesty  we 
are  inclined  to  think  that  all  the  wisdom  of  the  world  is 
concentrated  in  our  own  generation.  Good  sense  is  one 
of  the  greatest  preservatives  of  good  health  —  and  to 
make  your  way  in  the  world  you  must  preserve  your 
health  and  use  the  sense  that  nature  has  given  you. 

You  have  better  chances  in  this  age  than  a  girl  ever 
had  before  since  the  world  began.  But  those  chances  will 
avail  you  little  unless  you  take  care  of  your  health.  The 
invalid  is  always  at  a  disadvantage.  Do  nothing  that 
you  know  will  hurt  you ;  and  when  you  do  anything  that 
you  know  is  beneficial,  do  it  in  moderation.  The  best 
physical  state  is  to  have  nothing  at  all  to  remind  us  of 
the  body.  The  moment  we  are  reminded  that  we  have  a 
liver,  or  a  stomach,  or  a  bad  tooth,  something  is  wrong. 
You  need  not  expect  to  go  through  life  without  some 
aches  and  pains,  but  with  good  management  of  yourself 
you  can  go  through  your  whole  business  or  professional 
life  without  being  handicapped  by  chronic  illness. 

m  How  blest  is  he  who  crowns  in  shades  like  these 
A  youth  of  labor  with  an  age  of  ease  !  " 

Goldsmith. 


HEALTH  THE  FIB  ST  REQUISITE  TO  SUCCESS.      2 


CHAPTER   II. 

HEALTH    THE    FIRST     REQUISITE    TO    SUCCESS. 

If  you  would  be  a  success  in  your  occupation,  you  must 
first  nicely  gauge  your  own  physical  ability.  Undertake 
nothing  that  you  are  not  well  equipped  for.  To  aim 
higher  than  is  possible  to  reach  is  to  waste  strength  in 
useless  effort.  —  Dr.  Anna  M.  Galbraith. 

If  we  could  get  wives,  mothers,  and  daughters  to  learn 
the  habit  of  all  that  tends  to  health  we  should  soon  have 
an  easy  victory,  and  doctors  would  almost  cease  to  be 
known.  Health  would  be  a  recognized  necessity  prac- 
tised by  everybody.  —  Dr.  Richardson. 

Women  should  not  practise  heavy  gymnastics.  Their 
feminine  structure  is  not  fitted  for  it,  and  they  gain 
nothing  to  compensate  for  the  risks  they  run.  It  is  my 
experience  that  a  woman  should  not  lift  her  weight  from 
the  floor.  The  Swedish  floor  walk,  the  aesthetic  fencing, 
dancing,  gymnastic  games,  bicycle  riding,  and  swimming 
furnish  enough  without  making  it  desirable  that  one 
should  hang  by  her  heels,  leap  bars,  climb  posts,  or  turn 
somersaults.  —  Genevieve  Stebbins. 

The  five  talents  of  women  are  those  which  enable  them 
to  please  people,  to  feed  them  in  dainty  ways,  to  clothe 
them,  to  keep  them  orderly,  and  to  teach  them.  —  "  The 
Five  Talents  of  Woman"  by  E.  J.  Hardy. 


10  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS  GIBLS. 

Train  up  a  child  in  a  way  you  should  have  gone  your- 
self. —  Spurgeon. 

It  is  to  women  that  we  must  look  first  and  last  for  the 
application  of  sanitary  knowledge,  as  far  as  household 
hygiene  is  concerned.  —  Florence  Nightingale. 

No  point  in  the  warfare  against  disease  is  so  important 
as  that  of  getting  the  women  of  the  household  to  work  heart 
and  soul  after  good  health  in  the  household.  We  always 
look  to  women  for  the  cleanliness  and  tidiness  of  home. 
We  say  a  home  is  miserable  if  a  good  wife  and  mother 
be  not  at  the  head  of  it  to  direct  the  internal  arrange- 
ments. A  slovenly  woman  is  a  mark  for  discredit ;  but 
the  excellences  of  tidy  women  saved  us  often  from  severe 
and  fatal  outbreaks  of  disease.  —  Dr.  Richardson. 

Of  all  outdoor  exercises  for  women,  swimming  is  one 
of  the  most  perfect.  —  Dr.  Galbraith. 

Woman  —  God's  best  gift  to  man,  and  the  chief  sup- 
port of  the  doctors.  —  A  favorite  toast  at  medical 
society  dinners. 

As  an  element  of  health,  next  to  freedom  of  locomo- 
tion and  individual  independence,  is  the  necessity  of  re- 
munerative employment.  —  Elizabeth  Cady  Stanton. 

The  tendency  of  almost  all  forms  of  exercise  is  to  de- 
velop some  portion  of  the  body  at  the  expense  of  the  rest. 
No  system  of  physical  education  is  complete  that  does 
not  aim  at  the  symmetrical  development  of  the  whole 
body.  —  Dr.  Anna  M.  Galbraith. 


HEALTH   THE  FIRST  REQUISITE  TO   SUCCESS.   11 

The  woman  who  depends  on  walking  for  her  outdoor 
exercise  should  walk  at  least  three  miles  every  day,  at 
the  rate  of  three  miles  an  hour.  —  Dr.  Anna  M.  Galbraith. 

The  ill  health  of  women  is  due  to  the  fact  that  they 
are  too  constantly  in  contact  with  chairs.  —  Mme.  de 
Sevigne. 

A  healthy  adult  should  bear  without  the  risk  of  over- 
fatigue what  would  be  equivalent  to  a  walk  of  nine  miles, 
from  which  must  be  deducted  the  exertion  used  in  ordi- 
nary business  pursuits.  —  Professor  Parkes. 

Her  big  limbs  ended  in  the  tiny  hands  and  feet  which 
are  the  ideal  of  beauty  with  so  many  women.  As  a  little 
girl,  Natalie  possessed  the  arms  of  a  well-stuffed  chair, 
and  the  legs  of  a  piano.  As  a  young  lady,  voluminous 
sleeves  and  draperies  only  permitted  one  to  observe 
hands  which  corresponded  to  the  little  tassels  which 
usually  finish  off  chair-arms,  and  feet  not  much  larger 
than  the  castors  in  which  piano-legs  always  terminate.  — 
Amelie  Rives. 

Indulgence  in  the  pleasures,  fashions,  vices,  and  follies 
of  the  day  is  the  greatest  source  of  self-created  mis- 
fortunes, which  are  neither  few  nor  light.  —  Mrs.  E. 
Smith. 

The  human  female,  if  properly  developed  and  placed 
beyond  causes  which  militate  against  her  physical  well 
being,  would  be  in  no  great  degree  the  inferior  of  the 
male.  The  customs  of  civilized  life  have  depreciated 
her  powers  of  endurance  and  capacity  for  resisting 
diseases.  —  Prof.  T.  Gaillard  Thomas. 


12  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Health  and  cheerfulness  make  beauty,  finery,  and 
cosmetics  cost  many  a  life.  —  From  the  Spanish. 

He  knows  to  live  who  keeps  the  middle  state. 

Pope. 

Show  me  a  man  without  a  spot,  and  I  ?11  show  you  a 
maid  without  a  fault.  —  Shakespeare. 

Patients  are  simples  that  grow  in  every  medical  man's 
garden.  —  "  Punch." 

Pure  fresh  air  is  a  great  curative  for  most  diseases.  — 
Florence  Nightingale. 

The  rule  is  never  to  eat  or  do  anything  from  the  mere 
impulse  of  pleasure.  —  Gorgia  Liontino. 

Eat  little  to-day,  and  you  will  have  a  better  appetite 
to-morrow,  more  for  to-morrow,  and  more  to-morrows  to 
indulge  it.  —  Acton. 

Outdoor  exercise  is  the  best  physic.  —  Napoleon. 

No  men  despise  physic  so  much  as  physicians,  because 
no  men  so  thoroughly  understand  how  little  it  can  per- 
form. They  have  been  tinkering  the  human  constitution 
four  thousand  years,  in  order  to  cure  about  as  many  dis- 
orders. —  Colton. 

They  have  no  other  doctor  but  the  sun  and  the  fresh 
air,  and  that  such  an  one  as  never  sends  them  to  the 
apothecary.  —  South. 

A  man  must  often  exercise  or  fast  or  take  physic,  or 
be  sick.  —  Sir  W.  Temple. 


HEALTH  THE  FIRST  REQUISITE   TO   SUCCESS.    18 

Take  a  walk  to  refresh  yourself  with  the  open  air, 
which  inspired  fresh  doth  exceedingly  recreate  the  lungs, 
heart,  and  vital  spirits.  —  Harvey. 

You  will  never  live  to  my  age  without  you  keep  your- 
self in  breath  with  exercise.  —  Sir  P.  Sidney. 

The  happiest  women,  like  the  happiest  nations,  have 
no  history.  —  George  Eliot. 

Man  has  subdued  the  world,  but  woman  has  subdued 
man.  Mind  and  muscle  have  won  his  victories ;  love 
and  loveliness  have  gained  hers.  No  monarch  has  been 
so  great,  no  peasant  so  lowly,  that  he  has  not  been  glad 
to  lay  his  best  at  the  feet  of  a  woman.  —  Gail  Hamilton. 

It  is  the  principal  rule  not  to  be  too  much  addicted  to 
any  one  thing.  —  "  Spectator." 

Women  in  health  are  the  hope  of  the  nation.  Men 
who  exercise  a  controlling  influence,  —  the  master  spirits, 

—  with  a  few  exceptions  have  had  country-born  mothers. 
They  transmit  to  their  sons  those  traits  of  character  — 
moral,  intellectual,  and  physical  —  which  give  stability 
to  institutions,  and  promote  order,  security,  and  justice. 

—  Dr.  J.  V.  C.  Smith. 

A  cool  mouth  and  warm  feet  live  long.  —  George  Her- 
bert. 

Against  diseases  known  the  strongest  fence  is  the  de- 
fensive virtue,  abstinence.  —  Benjamin  Franklin. 

Always  rise  from  the  table  with  an  appetite  and  you 
will  never  sit  down  without  one.  —  Wm.  Penn. 


14  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

He  that  sits  with  his  back  to  a  draft  sits  with  his  face 
to  a  coffin.  —  From  the  Spanish. 

Michelet  tells  the  sentimental  world  that  woman  is  an 
exquisite  invalid,  with  a  perennial  headache  and  nerves 
perpetually  on  the  rack.  It  is  a  mistake.  When  I  gaze 
upon  German  and  French  peasant  women  I  ask  Michelet 
which  is  right,  he  or  Nature.  —  Kate  Field. 

The  requirements  of  health,  and  the  style  of  female 
attire  which  custom  enjoins,  are  in  direct  antagonism  to 
each  other.  —  Abba  Gould  Woolson. 

A  defective  physical  education  is  one  of  the  primary 
causes  of  unhappiness  in  marriage ;  a  girl  cannot  be  a 
useful  or  happy  wife,  she  cannot  make  her  husband  or 
children  happy,  unless  she  be  a  healthy  woman.  —  Mrs. 
E.  D.  N.  Southworth. 

The  root  of  sanctity  is  health.  A  man  must  be  healthy 
before  he  can  be  holy.  We  bathe  first,  and  then  per- 
fume. —  Mme.  Swetchine. 

Let  it  be  your  first  study  to  teach  the  world  that  you 
are  not  wood  and  straw  —  some  iron  in  you.  —  Sir  T.  F. 
Buxton. 

Health  and  cheerfulness  naturally  beget  each  other.  — 
Addison. 

Preserving  the  health  by  too  strict  a  regimen  is  a  weari- 
some malady.  —  La  Kochefoucald. 

Without  health  life  is  not  life.  —  Rabelais. 

Health  depends  somewhat  on  dress.  —  A.  Bloomer. 


HEALTH  THE  FIRST  REQUISITE   TO   SUCCESS.    15 

Whatever  else  may  be  included  in  the  "  higher  educa- 
tion "  of  women,  health-knowledge  ought  certainly  not  to 
be  neglected.  Of  what  comfort  will  Latin  and  Greek  be 
to  her  if  her  baby  dies  of  insufficient  clothing  or  improper 
feeding,  as  thousands  of  infants  die  every  year  ?  Of 
what  use  her  mathematics  and  history  if  she  injures  her 
constitution  by  over-application,  or  dies  of  typhoid  fever 
through  not  having  the  knowledge  to  remedy  a  defective 
drain  ?  The  most  important  thing  for  a  woman  to  learn 
is  how  to  live  well  herself  and  keep  others  well.  —  E.  J. 
Hardy. 

As  it  is  impossible  for  a  woman  to  fulfil  the  obligations 
of  marriage  without  health,  it  follows  that  every  girl 
who  is  a  candidate  for  matrimony  should  take  care  of 
her  health,  and  for  the  sake  of  others  neglect  nothing 
that  will  make  her  physically  strong  and  active.  Some 
married  women  suffer  terribly  because  when  they  mar- 
ried they  were  ignorant  of  natural  laws  which  they 
should  have  learned  to  obey.  Many  a  mother  knows  as 
little  what  to  do  with  the  first-born  babe  as  a  dog  does 
with  a  hedgehog.  —  Hardy. 

Vigorous  exercise  will  often  fortify  a  feeble  constitu- 
tion. —  Mrs.  Sigourney. 

The  wise,  for  cure,  on  exercise  depend  : 
God  never  made  his  work  for  man  to  mend. 

Dryden. 

Foul  air  slays  like  a  sword.  —  Dr.  Angus  Smith. 

Health  is  the  most  admirable  manifestation  of  right 
living.  —  Humboldt. 


16  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

The  honors  of  all  the  universities  in  the  world  would 
not  compensate  for  the  loss  of  digestion.  Some  people 
bend  over  books  for  ten  or  twelve  hours  a  day,  and  the 
result  is  only  a  crooked  back  if  not  a  crooked  mind.  It 
is  not  what  we  eat  but  what  we  digest  that  nourishes 
our  bodies,  and  it  is  not  what  we  read  but  what  we  re- 
member that  strengthens  our  mind.  Cows  don't  give 
any  the  more  milk  for  being  often  milked,  nor  do  chil- 
dren learn  any  more  because  of  very  long  hours  in  a  hot 
room.  —  Hardy. 

The  young  girl  who  is  wearied  with  a  short  walk,  who 
sits  up  very  late  and  lies  in  bed  in  the  morning,  who  eats 
sweets  between  meals,  who  aims  at  a  fine-lady  ideal 
(which  is  now  happily  passing  away),  and  wishes  to  be 
fragile  and  willowy,  pale  and  delicate  looking,  —  this  sort 
of  girl  grows  into  a  woman  lacking  that  bodily  health 
upon  which  much  that  is  best  in  the  soul-life  is  based. 
Happily,  however,  though  many  of  the  customs  of  society 
sadly  militate  against  health,  it  is  now  the  fashion  for 
girls  and  women  to  be  healthy.  A  girl  need  not  now 
blush  to  eat  a  good  dinner,  to  wear  stout  shoes,  or  to 
confess  that  she  has  muscles  and  that  she  exercises 
them.  —  Hardy. 

In  no  other  way  can  women  make  themselves  so  use- 
ful in  the  world  as  by  endeavoring  to  preserve  their  own 
health  and  the  health  of  others.  For  sickness  is  a 
cannibal  which  eats  up  all  the  life  and  youth  it  can  lay 
hold  of,  and  absorbs  its  own  sons  and  daughters.  It  is 
a  pale,  wailing,  distracted  phantom,  absolutely  selfish, 
heedless  of  what  is  good  and  great,  attentive  to  its  sen- 
sations, losing  its  soul,  and  afflicting  other  souls  with 
meanness  and  mopings,  and  with  ministrations  to  its 
voracity  of  trifles.  —  Hardy. 


HEALTH  THE  FIRST  REQUISITE  TO   SUCCESS.    17 

The  true  physical  exercise  is  unconscious  of  self-im- 
provement as  its  purpose  or  end  j  it  is  pure  overflow.  — 
Helen  Watterson  Moody. 

The  attitude  toward  athletics  of  the  average  woman 
undergraduate  is  usually  misunderstood.  The  Sunday 
illustrated  papers  to  the  contrary,  very  few  college 
women  live  in  golf  clothes  or  sweaters,  or  wear  snow- 
shoes  to  recitations.  On  the  contrary,  most  of  them  de- 
test "  gym.,"  and  evade  its  practice  whenever  they  can, 
by  any  allegation  of  physical  infirmity  or  other  necessity. 
Too  often  their  sole  concession  to  the  needs  of  their 
young  muscles  is  a  long  walk,  at  infrequent  intervals, 
with  another  girl.  —  Helen  Watterson  Moody. 

Those  of  us  who  are  born  invalids  must  bear  our  cross 
patiently  ;  but  those  of  us  who  begin  life  well  are  usually 
to  blame  if  we  do  not  continue  to  be  well. —  Eliza  Chester. 

Another  early  lesson  I  would  impress  on  girls  is  this : 
not  to  get  into  the  habit  of  thinking  about  or  talking 
about  their  bodies  or  bodily  sensations.  There  are  more 
good  things  in  the  world  than  time  to  talk  about  them 
in.  Many  a  woman's  body  would  grumble  less  if  it  had 
found  from  the  beginning  that  unreasonable  grumbling 
was  not  attended  to.  —  Edith  A.  Barnett. 

This  work  of  living  is  a  personal  matter  that  must  be 
accomplished  ;  but  it  is  useless  to  society.  On  the  con- 
trary, in  the  work  of  living  we  destroy  valuable  material 
which  somebody  else  would  be  very  glad  to  have  if  we 
did  not  take  it.  We  can't  live  at  all  without  using  up 
food  and  raiment,  and  of  food  and  raiment  there  is 
always  a  limited  supply  in  the  world,  so  that  many  per- 
sons have  to  go  insufficiently  clad,  and  to  bite  short.  — 
"  Training  of  Girls  for  Work,"  by  Edith  A.  Barnett. 


18  HELPS   FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Some  girls  are  taught  that  their  bodies  are  the  chief 
thing  in  the  universe  —  to  be  cockered  and  humored; 
never  to  work  when  they  are  tired ;  never  to  feel  a 
breath  of  biting  cold,  nor  a  ray  of  scorching  sun.  Half 
the  work  of  the  world  would  come  to  a  standstill  if  noth- 
ing were  ever  done  against  the  grain.  —  E.  A.  Barnett. 

If  no  man  had  ever  stood  and  worked  in  the  sun  or 
the  snow  after  his  skin  had  begun  to  smart  and  his  back 
to  ache,  the  world  would  be  a  wilderness  to-day,  and  we 
savages.  Who  are  these  girls  that  they  should  inherit 
the  work  of  all  the  ages,  and  yet  try  to  shake  themselves 
free  of  the  laws  that  govern  the  work  of  every  life  ?  — 
Edith  A.  Barnett. 

It  would  seem  as  though  the  young  women  have  dis- 
covered intuitively  for  themselves  that,  at  its  best,  a 
spendidly  equipped  gymnasium  is  only  a  substitute  for 
the  real  thing,  and  that  its  purpose  has  to  do  with  path- 
ology rather  than  physiology.  —  Helen  Watterson  Moody. 

Small  habits  well  pursued  betimes 
May  reach  the  dignity  of  crimes. 

Hannah  More. 

For  immunity  from  corns,  bunions,  and  cold  feet  — 
and  you  will  not  avoid  them  otherwise  —  you  must  have 
your  boots  and  shoes  made  without  high  heels,  with 
room  for  your  toes  and  play  for  your  instep,  the  soles 
thick  enough  to  save  you  from  mud  and  wet  feet,  and 
your  stockings  properly  fitted.  —  Lady  Bellairs. 

Variety 's  the  very  spice  of  life, 
That  gives  it  all  its  flavor. 

Cowper. 


HEALTH   THE  FIRST  REQUISITE   TO    SUCCESS.    19 

Remember  that  in  a  walk  of  ten  miles  the  last  five 
are  longer  than  the  first  five ;  then  reserve  that  second 
half  for  the  next  day.  —  Annie  H.  Ryder. 

Do  not  jump,  girls.  Creep,  slide,  crawl;  but  never 
shock  your  system  with  a  jump  of  few  or  many  feet  in 
height.  —  Annie  II.  Ryder. 

I  do  not  think  young  people  often  over-study ;  but 
many  school-girls  are  careless  about  taking  proper  food 
or  exercise  or  fresh  air;  and  many  more  ruin  their 
health  by  parties  and  late  hours ;  while  there  is,  alas,  a 
large  class  who  study  selfishly,  from  ambition  alone, 
who  worry  so  much  over  their  lessons  that  every  one 
takes  it  for  granted  that  the  lessons  themselves  are 
injurious.  —  Eliza  Chester. 

Good  health  is  to  be  secured  by  an  acquaintance  with 
our  constitutions,  and  by  observing  what  things  benefit 
or  injure  us;  by  temperance  in  living,  which  tends  to 
preserve  the  body ;  by  employing  the  skill  of  those  who 
have  devoted  themselves  to  the  study  of  the  human 
body.  —  Cicero. 

He  that  loses  his  conscience  has  nothing  left  that  is 
worth  keeping ;  therefore  be  sure  you  look  to  that. 
And  in^  the  next  place  look  to  your  health ;  and  if  you 
have  it,  praise  God,  and  value  it  next  to  a  good  con- 
science ;  for  health  is  the  second  blessing  that  we  mortals 
are  capable  of,  a  blessing  that  money  cannot  buy ;  there- 
fore value  it,  and  be  thankful  for  it.  —  Izaak  Walton. 

I  know  a  house  the  mistress  of  which  is  always  com- 
plaining of  the  degeneracy  of  servants,  as  an  apology 
for  the  untidy  state  of  everything,  which  she  cannot  but 


20  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

feel  is  noticed  by  her  visitors.  And  yet  this  lady  has 
three  grown-up  daughters,  who  are  "  so  delicate,  poor 
dears,  that  they  never  can  give  any  help"!  As  their 
delicacy  is  of  the  "  nervous  "  kind,  it  would  surely  be 
much  better  for  their  health,  and  would  add  consider- 
ably to  the  comfort  of  their  home,  if  the  two  inefficient 
servants  of  the  establishment  were  dismissed,  and  these 
ladies  were  to  become  themselves  centres  of  domestic 
order.  —  E.  J.  Hardy. 

Let  health  my  nerves  and  finer  fibres  brace. 

Thomson. 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  21 


CHAPTER    III. 


THE    BEST    EDUCATION. 

Whence  is  thy  learning  ?    Hath  thy  toil 
O'er  books  consum'd  the  midnight  oil  ?  " 


John  Gay. 


No  ambitious  girl  need  ]ook  upon  the  education  of 
woman  as  a  new  thing  —  an  experiment.  There  have  been 
educated  women  in  all  ages.  In  the  world's  history  there 
are  few  periods  when  a  woman  could  not  learn  anything 
that  a  man  could  learn,  provided  she  had  plenty  of 
money  and  powerful  friends.  Our  own  age  has  not 
shown  that  woman  can  be  educated,  for  the  first  woman 
on  the  lonesome  earth  was  enough  to  demonstrate  that 
fact,  but  has  gloriously  declared  that  every  woman  shall 
have  the  opportunity  to  learn  —  that  the  blacksmith's 
daughter  in  the  obscure  hamlet  shall  have  such  chances 
as  in  darker  ages  were  given  to  the  daughter  of  the 
emperor. 

But  what  is  the  best  education,  with  every  door  to 
learning  wide  open  ?  In  general  terms  the  best  educa- 
tion for  either  boy  or  girl  is  that  which  best  fits  the 
pupil  for  his  future  duties.  That  would  be  plain  enough 
if  we  knew  what  our  future  duties  are  to  be.  In  England 
we  hear  of  educating  a  girl  according  to  her  condition  in 
life  —  that  is,  one  kind  of  education  for  the  duke's 
daughter  and  another  for  the  peasant's.  Even  in  this 
democratic  country  every  girl  has  her  condition  in  life, 
but  here  we  have  a  happy  way  of  improving  our  condi- 
tion  very  rapidly.     The   poorest   girl   in  America  this 


22  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

morning  may  be  a  rich  and  comfortable  matron  ten 
years  hence. 

This  being  true  of  the  very  poorest, — and  you  know  that 
it  is  true,  —  it  follows  that  those  girls  who  have  better 
opportunities  than  the  poorest  have  even  better  chances 
of  improving  their  condition.  Your  own  chance  of  im- 
provement you  should  regard  not  as  a  possibility,  but  as 
a  probability.  You  expect  to  rise,  and  you  are  right  to 
expect  it.  But  you  cannot  tell  how  high  you  may  rise. 
The  level  of  the  self-supporting,  self-respecting  woman 
is  clearly  within  your  reach,  and  that  is  well  worth 
preparing  for.  You  may  go  further  and  have  wealth, 
with  the  higher  social  position  that  is  attainable  through 
wealth.  These  things  may  come  through  your  own 
efforts,  your  own  talents,  or  through  marriage. 

No  beautiful  prince  is  coming  to  take  you  away  in 
his  golden  chariot.  You  are  too  sensible,  I  trust,  to  fill 
your  head  with  those  old  romantic  notions ;  and  anyhow, 
the  golden  chariots  are  mostly  in  pawn.  When  the 
prince  comes  he  will  be  at  work  himself,  and  his  bride 
will  not  be  one  of  the  drones.  It  is  almost  a  certainty 
that  your  advancement  must  come  through  your  own 
efforts.  But  you  expect  it  to  come,  you  intend  to  work 
for  it,  and  you  cannot  foresee  how  far  upward  your  in- 
dustry or  your  talents  may  carry  you.  So  the  safe  and 
sensible  way  is  to  fit  yourself  for  the  best  that  can  possi- 
bly come  to  you. 

That  is  easily  done.  It  is  much  easier  than  you  think. 
By  "  the  best  that  can  possibly  come  to  you  "  I  mean 
the  best  socially  and  financially,  and  there  is  no  social 
position  that  you  or  any  other  girl  can  reach  which  re- 
quires a  special  education  in  any  direction.  If  you 
were  to  make  a  few  millions  in  your  profession,  or  were 
to  marry  one  of  Queen  Victoria's  grandsons,  you  would 
need  no  more  than  an  average  general  education  and  an 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  23 

average  fund  of  general  information  to  fit  you  for  the 
best  society. 

What  are  the  things  that  make  a  girl  presentable  to 
the  world  —  to  the  refined  world  that  you  live  in  or 
should  hope  to  live  in  ?  I  am  bound  to  tell  you  that 
good  breeding  is  one  of  the  very  first,  and  that  all  the 
education  in  the  world  will  nob  take  the  place  of  it.  If 
you  are  loud,  flashy,  slangy,  or  otherwise  objectionable 
to  good  company  your  ability  to  conjugate  a  Greek  verb 
will  not  make  you  welcome.  The  foundation  of  the 
breeding  you  must  get  at  home,  and  you  can  improve  it 
afterward  by  following  good  examples.  Then,  in  the 
next  place,  you  must  have  a  good  education. 

A  common-school  education  is  a  good  education,  and 
that  perhaps  you  have  already.  It  is  a  sufficient  educa- 
tion, if  you  have  made  good  use  of  your  time,  to  fit  you 
for  any  social  station.  If  you  have  gone  through  the 
grammar  school  you  are  able  to  read  well,  you  can  write 
a  note  without  misspelling  any  of  the  words,  you  can  do 
any  little  arithmetical  problem  that  is  likely  to  confront 
you,  you  know  something  of  the  geography  and  govern- 
ments of  your  own  and  other  countries,  and  you  can  talk 
without  making  grammatical  mistakes. 

That  is  a  good  foundation.  But  when  you  talk,  you 
must  have  something  to  talk  about,  and  there  the  general 
information  is  needed.  This  general  information,  re- 
member, can  be  acquired  out  of  school  as  well  as  in 
school.  Some  of  it  comes  in  Sunday  school,  where  you 
learn  about  the  Bible  and  biblical  persons.  A  great  deal 
of  it  comes  from  reading  history.  If  you  are  drawn  into 
a  conversation  about  Napoleon  it  will  be  awkward  to 
have  to  ask  who  Napoleon  was.  The  best  English  liter- 
ature you  should  be  familiar  with.  I  was  once  told  by 
a  lady  that  she  was  reading  "  a  story  called  '  Nicholas 
Nickleby,'  written  by  a  man  named  Dickens,"  and  that  it 


24  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

was  awfully  good.  Though  her  facts  were  correct,  her 
mode  of  expression  betrayed  her  ignorance.  If  you  can- 
not read  Shakespeare  for  pleasure,  read  him  occasionally 
for  information,  so  that  you  can  talk  intelligently  about 
his  works.  The  best  English  fiction  every  educated 
person  is  expected  to  be  familiar  with  —  at  any  rate,  such 
modern  writers  as  Scott,  Thackeray,  Dickens,  Haw- 
thorne, and  at  least  a  dozen  more.  You  may  take  the 
highest  honors  in  the  best  girls'  college  in  the  country, 
but  if  you  talk  of  "  an  awfully  good  story  written  by  a 
man  named  Dickens,"  the  world  will  set  you  down  for  a 
very  ignorant  person. 

The  actual  requirements,  you  see,  are  very  few,  and 
are  within  the  reach  of  almost  every  girl  in  this  country. 
But  when  you  have  some  particular  calling  in  view,  you 
must  of  course  educate  yourself  for  that  calling.  If 
you  are  to  be  a  teacher  you  must  have  a  much  better 
education  than  the  common  school  can  give  you.  The 
general  information  you  should  have  in  any  and  every 
case,  but  for  special  work  you  must  have  special  train- 
ing. If  you  are  to  be  a  professional  musician  you  must 
have  a  special  musical  training.  Or  you  may  be  so  for- 
tunately situated  that  you  can  afford  the  luxury  of  a 
higher  education  without  needing  it  for  any  specific 
purpose.  Higher  study  merely  for  the  love  of  it  is  a 
luxury ;  as  a  preparation  for  any  of  the  higher  callings 
it  is  a  necessity. 

We  have  been  considering  what  it  is  necessary  for 
every  girl  to  know  —  what  the  poorest  girl  may  learn  and 
what  the  richest  girl  can  get  along  with.  But  many 
things  are  desirable  that  are  not  absolutely  necessary, 
and  the  higher  education  is  one  of  them.  There  is  no 
danger  of  your  learning  too  much,  but  there  is  a  chance 
of  your  spending  your  time  and  money  in  learning  use- 
less things   to   the   exclusion  of  useful  and   profitable 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  25 

things.  A  father  often  says  to  his  son  who  is  inclined 
to  be  a  spendthrift,  "  You  must  remember  that  in  your 
whole  life  you  will  receive  just  so  much  money ;  so  much 
you  will  earn,  so  much  you  will  inherit ;  and  every 
dollar  that  you  waste  is  just  so  much  to  be  deducted 
from  the  total."  Your  own  time  in  your  school  years 
you  must  look  at  much  in  the  same  way.  You  have  so 
many  hours,  weeks,  months  for  study  in  your  whole 
school  life,  and  in  those  hours  or  months  you  can  learn 
just  so  much.  So  it  is  important  that  you  give  your 
time  to  the  right  studies ;  and  the  right  studies  for  one 
girl  may  be  the  wrong  ones  for  another. 

Perhaps  you  desire  to  become  a  newspaper  woman, 
for  example.  There  is  hardly  anything  you  can  learn 
that  will  not  be  of  use  to  you  in  that  calling,  yet  even 
there  some  things  are  of  much  more  use  than  others.  If 
you  understand  Latin  and  Greek  and  French  and  Ger- 
man you  will  find  use  for  them  all  at  various  times ; 
but  the  French  and  German  you  will  have  use  for  fifty 
times  to  the  Latin  and  Greek's  once,  so  if  you  can  master 
only  two  of  them  you  will  find  the  living  languages 
more  profitable  than  the  dead.  If  you  hope  to  go  to 
Germany  to  finish  your  musical  education  German 
should  be  the  first  foreign  language  for  you  to  learn.  In 
Italy  you  can  learn  from  the  great  masters  of  art  with- 
out speaking  Italian,  but  you  will  be  at  a  disadvantage 
there  if  you  do  not  know  the  language.  The  higher 
mathematics  you  will  find  of  use  in  some  callings,  but 
not  in  many,  but  for  some  minds  they  are  capital  train- 
ing. They  are  much  like  the  rules  of  grammar ;  if  not 
in  constant  use  the  details  are  soon  forgotten,  but  the 
fundamental  principles  remain  fixed  in  the  mind.  By 
the  time  you  are  forty  you  probably  will  not  be  able  to 
repeat  a  single  grammatical  rule  unless  you  are  a  teacher ; 
but  long  before  that  time  the  use  of  grammatical  Ian- 


26  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

guage  will  be  so  habitual  with  you  that  you  will  have  no 
further  use  for  the  rules. 

In  whatever  direction  your  tastes  or  surroundings  lead 
you  in  your  preparation  for  a  calling,  you  will  find  com- 
pany—  the  company  of  other  girls.  There  are  young 
women  in  this  country  who  are  studying  marine  engi- 
neering. In  most  directions  you  will  find  enough 
company  to  convince  you  that  you  will  have  plenty  of 
competition.  Before  you  are  out  of  school  you  will  see 
for  yourself  that  those  who  have  the  best  preparation 
have  the  best  chance.  If  you  would  take  the  lead  you 
must  be  a  little  better  equipped  than  the  others.  Do 
not  imagine  that  people  will  laugh  at  you  for  doing  any- 
thing you  can  do  well,  because  you  are  a  girl ;  and  on 
the  other  hand,  do  not  think  that  for  that  same  reason 
everybody  is  going  to  rush  forward  to  lend  you  a  helping 
hand.  The  employer  will  not  put  you  on  his  salary  list 
because  you  are  a  girl,  but  because  you  can  do  his  work. 

If  a  collegiate  education  is  in  your  mind,  you  most 
likely  know  already  what  college  you  prefer.  You  have 
a  friend  in  one,  or  another  is  near  your  home,  or  for 
some  other  good  reason  the  college  is  already  selected. 
But  even  if  this  is  the  case  it  is  well  for  you  to  know 
how  wide  is  the  educational  field  that  is  open  to  you. 
You  can  learn  something  about  it  by  taking  one  of  the 
almanacs  published  by  many  of  the  large  daily  news- 
papers and  turning  to  the  statistics  of  colleges.  In  the 
pages  upon  pages  filled  with  the  names  and  addresses  of 
these  institutions  you  will  find  that  in  almost  every  part 
of  the  country  there  are  colleges  exclusively  for  girls, 
and  scores  of  others  in  which  both  boys  and  girls  are 
received  —  co-educational  colleges,  as  they  are  called. 
Any  one  of  these  colleges  that  you  may  write  to  will 
send  you  its  annual  catalogue  and  whatever  special  in- 
formation you  ask  for.     In  preparing  to  give  you  prac- 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  27 

tical  information  in  this  chapter  about  the  courses  of 
study  and  average  expenses,  I  have  written  to  many  of 
them,  and  have  before  me  such  a  mountain  of  catalogues 
that  I  can  only  select  one  here  and  there  to  serve  for 
examples  of  the  whole. 

VASSAR. 

REQUIREMENTS    FOR    ADMISSION    TO    THE    FRESHMAN    CLASS. 

Applicants  for  admission  to  the  College  must  be  at  least  sixteen 
years  of  age  and  must  present  satisfactory  testimonials  of  good 
character.  All  testimonials  and  certificates  must  be  sent  to  the 
Secretary  before  July  10. 

To  secure  a  room  on  the  campus,  early  registration  is  necessary. 
Blanks  are  provided  by  the  College,  and  no  one  will  be  considered 
an  applicant  who  has  not  filled  one  out  and  returned  it  to  the 
Secretary.  Every  application  must  be  accompanied  by  a  deposit 
of  ten  dollars,  which  is  forfeited  in  case  the  applicant  withdraws, 
but  otherwise  is  credited  on  the  first  payment. 

Candidates  for  the  Freshman  Class  are  examined  in  the  follow- 
ing subjects : 

English  :  The  candidate  is  required  to  write  one  or  more  para- 
graphs on  each  of  several  subjects  chosen  from  a  considerably 
larger  number  given  in  the  examination  paper.  The  questions  on 
all  the  books  assume  a  knowledge  of  subject-matter  and  structure, 
but  those  on  the  books  prescribed  for  study  and  practice  call  for 
more  detailed  treatment  than  those  on  the  books  prescribed  for 
reading.  The  examination  presupposes  the  ability  to  write  good 
English,  and  no  student  will  be  accepted  whose  paper  is  notably 
deficient  in  logical  development  of  the  subject,  or  in  such  details 
of  form  as  spelling,  punctuation,  grammar,  or  division  into  para- 
graphs. 

I.     The  books  prescribed  for  reading  are  : 

In  1900  :  Dryden's  Palamon  and  Arcite  ;  Pope's  Iliad,  Books  I., 
VI.,  XXII.,  and  XXIV.;  The  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers  in 
The  Spectator ;  Goldsmith's  Vicar  of  Wakefield  ;  Scott's  Ivanhoe  ; 
DeQuincey's  Flight  of  a  Tartar  Tribe;  Cooper's  Last  of  the 
Mohicans;  Tennyson's  Princess  ;  Lowell's   Vision  of  Sir  Launfal. 

In  1901  and  1902:  Shakespeare's  Merchant  of  Venice;  Pope's 
Iliad,  Books  I.,  VI.,  XXII.,  and  XXIV. ;  The  Sir  Roger  de  Cover- 


28  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

ley  Papers  in  The  Spectator;  Goldsmith's  Vicar  of  Wakefield; 
Coleridge's  Ancient  Mariner  ;  Scott's  Ivanhoe  ;  Cooper's  Last  of  the 
Mohicans ;  Tennyson's  Princess  ;  Lowell's  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal  ; 
George  Eliot's  Silas  Marner. 

II.     The  books  prescribed  for  study  and  practice  are  : 

In  1900 :  Shakespeare's  Macbeth  ;  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  Books 
I.  and  II. ;  Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation  with  America  ;  Macau- 
lay's  Essays  on  Milton  and  Addison. 

In  1901  and  1902 :  Shakespeare's  Macbeth ;  Milton's  Lycidas, 
Comus,  L' Allegro,  and  II  Penseroso  ;  Burke's  Speech  on  Concilia- 
tion with  America  ;  Macaulay's  Essays  on  Milton  and  Addison. 

History  :  Outlines  of  Greek  and  Roman  history  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  Roman  Empire ;  outlines  of  American  or  English 
history.  Any  standard  history  of  Greece,  Rome,  England,  or 
America  may  be  used.  The  following  have  been  recommended : 
For  Greek  and  Roman  history,  the  sections  on  Greek  and  Roman 
history  in  Sheldon's  General  History  or  Myers'  General  History ; 
for  American  history,  Johnston's  History  of  the  United  States,  or 
Fiske's  History  of  the  United  States;  for  English  history, 
Gardiner's  English  History  for  Schools.  The  following,  however, 
more  nearly  represent  the  amount  and  kind  of  work  it  is  hoped 
may  be  presented;  Oman,  History  of  Greece ;  Allcroftand  Mason, 
History  of  Rome,  or  Allen,  History  of  the  Roman  People  ;  Guest 
and  Underwood,  Handbook  of  English  History  (to  year  1793),  or 
Gardiner,  Students'  History  of  England,  through  Part  IX. ;  John- 
ston, History  of  the  United  States,  or  Fiske,  History  of  the  United 
States. 

Mathematics  (a)  Algebra.  —  The  requirements  in  Algebra 
embrace  the  following  subjects  :  Factors ;  Common  Divisors  and 
Multiples  ;  Fractions  ;  Ratio  and  Proportion ;  Negative  Quantities 
and  Interpretation  of  Negative  Results ;  The  Doctrine  of  Expo- 
nents ;  Radicals  and  Equations  involving  Radicals  ;  The  Binomial 
Theorem ;  Arithmetical  and  Geometrical  Progressions ;  Putting 
Questions  into  Equations;  The  ordinary  methods  of  Elimination 
and  the  solution  of  both  Numerical  and  Literal  Equations  of  the 
First  and  Second  Degrees,  with  one  or  more  unknown  quantities, 
and  of  problems  leading  to  such  equations.  The  text-books  used 
should  be  equivalent  to  the  larger  treatises  of  Newcomb,  Olney, 
Ray,  Robinson,  Todhunter,  Wells,  or  Wentworth. 

(6)  Plane  Geometry,  as  much  as  is  contained  in  the  first  five 
books  of   Chauvenet's   Treatise  on  Elementary   Geometry,  or  the 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  29 

first  five  books  of  Wentworth's  New  Plane  and  Solid  Geometry, 
or  Wells'  Plane  Geometry,  or  the  first  six  books  of  Hamblin 
Smith's  Elements  of  Geometry,  or  chapter  first  of  Olney's  Elements 
of  Geometry. 

In  order  to  pursue  successfully  the  work  of  the  College,  recent 
review  of  the  work  completed  early  in  the  preparatory  course  is 
necessary. 

Latin  :  Preparation  should  include  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
forms  and  syntax  of  the  language,  with  vocabulary  sufficient  to 
translate  Latin  into  idiomatic  English  and  English  into  correct 
Latin.  To  secure  this  it  is  recommended  that  candidates  should 
read  at  least  four  books  of  Caesar's  Gallic  War,  seven  orations  of 
Cicero,  and  six  books  of  Vergil's  ^Eneid. 

It  is  of  especial  importance  that  students  should  be  trained  from 
the  beginning  to  read  Latin  aloud  according  to*the  Roman  method 
of  pronunciation,  with  strict  attention  to  vowel  quantities,  and  to 
translate  Latin  from  hearing  it  read  aloud,  as  well  as  at  sight  from 
the  printed  page.  Composition  in  Latin  should  be  continued 
throughout  the  entire  period  of  preparation  and  as  far  as  possible 
in  connection  with  the  reading  of  the  Latin  authors,  because  it 
must  be  presented  in  connection  with  the  translation  from  the 
Latin.  Such  books  as  Collar,  Daniell,  Dodge,  and  Tuttle  or  Riggs' 
In  Latinum  are  recommended.  The  candidate  is  also  expected  to 
be  able  to  translate  at  sight  passages  from  Caesar  and  Cicero. 

In  addition  to  the  Latin  two  other  languages  are 
required.  The  second  language  may  be  Greek  or  German  or 
French  •  the  third  language  may  be  French  or  German. 

Greek  :  Candidates  must  be  able  to  read  at  sight  easy  Greek 
prose  and  easy  passages  from  Homer ;  also  to  render  easy  English 
passages  into  correct  Greek.  For  this  they  should  have  thorough 
training  in  grammar,  with  constant  practice  from  the  start  in 
translating  sentences  into  Greek,  and  should  read  carefully  at 
least  four  books  of  the  Anabasis  or  the  Hellenica  and  2,500  to 
4,000  lines  of  the  Iliad  or  the  Odyssey,  with  constant  practice  in 
translating  at  sight.  They  should  have  at  command  a  fair  vocabu- 
lary, should  be  able  to  recognize  forms  at  a  glance,  and  to  read 
Greek  aloud  intelligently  and  with  correct  pronunciation.  Practice 
in  translating  from  hearing  is  strongly  recommended. 

This  preparation  calls  for  at  least  three  years'  study  of  Greek. 

German  (if  offered  as  the  third  language)  :  (a)  The  rudiments 
of  grammar,  and  especially  these  topics  :  the  declension  of  articles, 


30  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

adjectives,  pronouns,  and  such  nouns  as  are  readily  classified;  the 
conjugation  of  weak  and  of  the  more  usual  strong  verbs  ;  the  more 
common  prepositions ;  the  simpler  uses  of  the  modal  auxiliaries ; 
the  elementary  rules  of  syntax  and  word  order.  Proficiency  of 
the  applicant  may  be  tested  by  questions  on  the  above  topics  and 
by  the  translation  into  German  of  simple  English  sentences,  (b) 
Translation  at  sight  of  a  passage  of  easy  prose.  It  is  believed  that 
the  requisite  facility  can  be  acquired  by  reading  not  less  than  two 
hundred  duodecimo  pages  of  simple  German. 

Practice  in  pronunciation,  in  writing  German  from  dictation, 
and  in  the  use  of  simple  German  phrases  in  the  class-room,  is 
recommended. 

Preparation  for  the  elementary  requirement  calls  for  at  least  one 
year's  instruction  of  five  periods  per  week. 

German  (if  offered  as  the  second  language) :  (a)  More  advanced 
grammar.  In  addition  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  accidence,  of 
the  elements  of  word-formation,  and  of  the  principal  uses  of  prep- 
ositions and  conjunctions,  the  candidate  must  be  familiar  with  the 
essentials  of  German  syntax,  and  particularly  with  the  uses  of 
modal  auxiliaries  and  the  subjunctive  and  infinitive  moods.  The 
proficiency  of  the  applicant  may  be  tested  by  questions  on  these 
topics,  and  by  the  translation  into  German  of  easy,  connected 
English  prose,  (b)  Translation  at  sight  of  ordinary  German.  It 
is  believed  that  the  requisite  facility  can  be  acquired  by  reading,  in 
addition  to  the  amount  mentioned  under  German  as  the  third 
language,  at  least  five  hundred  pages  of  classical  and  contemporary 
prose  and  poetry.  It  is  recommended  that  not  less  than  one-half 
of  this  reading  be  selected  from  the  works  of  Lessing,  Schiller,  and 
Goethe. 

It  is  essential  that  the  candidate  acquire  the  ability  to  follow  a 
recitation  conducted  in  German  and  to  answer  in  that  language 
questions  asked  by  the  instructor. 

At  least  three  years  should  be  given  to  this  preparation. 

German  (extra  year)  :  Thorough  knowledge  of  the  whole  German 
grammar.  Prose  composition.  Freytag,  Karl  der  Grosse ;  Aus 
den  Kreuzzilgen.  (Holt  ed.)  Der  Staat  Friedrichs  des  Grossen. 
(Macmillan  ed.)  Schiller,  Die  Belagerung  von  Antwerpen.  (Mac- 
millan  ed.)     Egmonts  Tod. 

French  (if  offered  as  the  third  language)  :  A  knowledge  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  Grammar.  Whitney's  Practical  French 
Grammar,  part  first.     Henri  Greville,  Dosia  ;  Octave  Feuillet,  Le 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  31 

Roman  d'un  jeune  Homme  pauvre ;  Daudet,  La  Belle  Nivernaise  ; 
and  three  of  Bdcher's  College  Plays.  It  should  be  understood  that 
in  these  requirements  it  is  the  knowledge  of  the  language  itself 
rather  than  of  the  grammar  that  is  demanded. 

French  (if  offered  as  the  second  language)  :  A  thorough 
knowledge  of  French  Grammar  and  ability  to  translate  easy 
English  prose  into  French.  (Whitney's  and  Edgren's  Grammars 
recommended.)  Six  of  B6cher's  College  Plays  ;  Daudet,  La  Belle 
Nivernaise ;  Souvestre,  Un  Philosophe  sous  les  Toils  ;  Julliot, 
Mademoiselle  Solange  ;  Malot,  Sans  Famille  ;  Erckman-Chatrian, 
Le  Conscrit  de  1813. 

As  French  is  the  language  of  the  class-room,  it  is  essential  that 
candidates  for  admission  should  have  some  practice  in  French 
conversation. 

At  least  three  years  should  be  given  to  this  preparation. 

In  place  op  the  third  language  the  candidate  mat  offer 
either  of  the   following  : 

1.  An  additional  year  of  work,  equivalent  to  that  of  the  Freshman 
class,  in  the  second  language.  No  certificate  of  a  school  will  be  ac- 
cepted for  this  advanced  work  and  when  presented  in  lieu  of  entrance 
requirements  it  will  not  be  counted  toward  the  degree.  Students 
offering  this  work  must  take  at  least  a  year  of  another  modern 
language  in  College. 

2.  A  year  in  Physics  or  Chemistry;  that  is,  five  hours  a  week, 
not  less  than  two  of  which  shall  be  given  to  work  in  the  laboratory. 

Certificates  from  approved  schools  will  be  accepted  in  place  of 
examinations  on  the  work  of  the  class-room.  These  must  state  the 
number  of  weeks  and  of  hours  per  week  occupied,  the  division  of 
time  between  the  class-room  and  laboratory,  and  the  text-book 
used  and  the  ground  actually  gone  over. 

The  work  of  the  laboratory  will  be  judged  by  an  examination  of 
the  note-book,  which  must  be  sent  to  the  Secretary  before  July  10. 
The  original  notes, — notes  taken  by  the  student  at  the  time  the 
experiment  is  made,  —  certified  to  be  such  by  the  instructor,  must 
be  presented  for  examination.  Revised  copies,  if  such  have  been 
made  by  the  student,  may  accompany  the  original  notes,  but 
should  not  be  substituted  for  them.  • 

The  course  in  Physics  must  cover  the  subject  as  treated  in 
Cooley's  Students  Manual  of  Physics,  or  its  equivalent.  The 
laboratory  work  must  consist  of   at  least  40   quantitative  experi- 


32  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

ments  selected  from  the  Manual.     As  many  additional  qualitative 
experiments  as  practicable  should  be  made. 

The  course  in  Chemistry  should  be  essentially  that  indicated  by 
Remsen's  Briefer  Course.  A  separate  manual  of  laboratory 
directions  should  be  used  which  contains  as  little  as  possible  beside 
directions  for  manipulation;  that  is,  no  statement  of  results  to  be 
looked  for  or  explanations.  Those  of  Remsen  and  Randall,  Hill- 
yer,  or  Nicholson  and  Avery  are  among  the  best.  It  is  not  desira- 
able  that  any  work  should  be  done  in  qualitative  analysis  in  the 
first  year's  course.  The  laboratory  exercises  on  the  metals  should 
be  partly  devoted  to  the  preparation  of  some  of  their  more  im- 
portant compounds  on  a  larger  scale  than  is  commonly  done. 
They  should  also  contribute  toward  familiarity  with  the  oxidations 
and  reductions  involved  in  the  changes  of  valence  of  the  more  com- 
mon metals  showing  variable  valence. 

EXAMINATIONS. 

Examinations  for  entrance  to  the  Freshman  class  may  be  given 
at  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  Cleveland,  Pittsburg,  Boston,  St.  Louis, 
Detroit,  Louisville,  Atlanta,  Washington,  Omaha,  Denver,  and 
San  Francisco,  during  the  first  week  in  June,  1900. 

Application  for  examination  at  any  of  these  places  must  be  made 
to  the  Secretary  before  April  15. 

A  fee  of  five  dollars  must  be  paid  in  advance  by  every  candidate 
who  is  examined  elsewhere  than  at  the  College. 

The  examinations  at  the  College  will  be  held  June  6,  7,  8,  9,  and 
September  19,  20,  21,  22,  1900. 

Candidates  must  be  present  at  9  A.M.  for  registration. 
The  order  of  entrance  examinations  is  as  follows  : 
Wednesday,  Latin,  9.30  A.M.  to  12  M. 

English,  2  to  4.30  P.M. 
Thursday,      Geometry,  9.30  to  11.30  A.M. 

History,  2  to  4.30  P.M. 
Friday,  Greek,  German,  French,  9.30  A.M.  to  12  M. 

Algebra,  2  to  4  P.M. 
Saturday,       German,  French  (third  language  or  its   equiva- 
lent), 9.30  to  11  A.M. 

The  College  cannot  provide  rooms  for  new  students  until  their 
examinations  have  been  completed. 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  33 

Students  returning  to  College  cannot  be  received  until  Friday  of 
the  opening  week,  unless  they  are  due  for  examinations. 

No  one  is  at  liberty  to  occupy  a  room  until  she  has  settled  her 
bill  with  the  Treasurer. 

Those  entering  on  certificate  should  register  before  five  o'clock 
P.M.  on  Thursday  or  Friday  of  examination  week. 

CERTIFICATES. 

Students    are    admitted   without   examination   in   the   following 


1.  When  they  bring  certificates  from  schools  pupils  of  which 
have  passed  all  entrance  examinations  without  condition. 

2.  When  they  have  been  prepared  by  a  graduate  of  the  College 
engaged  in  the  work  of  private  instruction,  one  of  whose  pupils 
has  before  passed  all  entrance  examinations  without  condition. 

3.  When  they  bring  certificates  from  schools  which  have  been 
visited  by  a  committee  of  the  Faculty  and  approved  by  them,  or 
in  regard  to  which  the  Faculty  have  other  sufficient  means  of 
information. 

4.  The  certificates  of  the  Regents  of  the  State  of  New  York 
will  be  accepted  in  place  of  examination,  as  far  as  they  meet  the 
requirements  for  admission  to  the  College. 

In  all  cases  the  certificate  must  specify  the  text-book  used,  the 
ground  actually  gone  over,  and  the  date  of  the  examination. 
The  final  examination  in  any  subject  covered  by  the  certificate  must 
have  been  taken  within  two  years  of  the  time  of  the  candidate's  en- 
trance to  College.  Certificate  forms  will  be  furnished  on  applica- 
tion to  the  Secretary. 

All  certificates  and  testimonials  must  be  forwarded  to  the  Secre- 
tary before  July  10. 

Application  for  the  certificate  privilege  for  a  school  must  be 
made  before  May  1. 

All  certificate  privileges  granted  by  this  College  will  expire  by 
limitation  on  January  1,  1902,  and  every  third  year  thereafter;  but 
any  school  may  secure  the  renewal  of  its  certificate  privilege  by 
making  application,  if  the  students  received  therefrom  in  the 
meantime  have  given  evidence  of  satisfactory  preparation. 

If  the  school  in  the  meanwhile  has  sent  no  student  to  this  College, 
then  full  statements  must  be  sent  as  to  any  change  in  its  manage- 
ment or  condition  since  the  last  granting  of  the  privilege,  to  serve 


34  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

as  a  basis  of  reexamination  of  the  school,  as  on  the  occasion  of  an 
original  application. 

SPECIAL    COURSES. 

The  requirements  for  admission  to  special  courses  are  the  same 
as  those  for  entrance  to  the  Freshman  class.  Candidates  must 
consult  the  President  in  regard  to  the  courses  of  study  desired,  and 
their  work  will  be  arranged  by  him  in  consultation  with  the  heads 
of  departments. 

COURSES    FOR   TEACHERS. 

Teachers  who  desire  to  pursue  special  courses  and  who  present 
to  the  President  satisfactory  testimonials  of  their  success  in  teach- 
ing and  of  their  proficiency  as  students  maybe  received  without 
examination.  Certificates  of  the  work  completed  will  be  given 
when  desired. 

ADMISSION   TO    ADVANCED    STANDING. 

Candidates  for  advanced  standing,  not  coming  from  other  col- 
leges, may  be  admitted,  on  examination,  to  the  regular  course  at 
any  time  previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  Junior  year.  Such 
students  will  be  examined  in  all  prescribed  studies  antecedent  to 
the  desired  grade,  including  the  requirements  for  admission  to  the 
College  (unless  a  certificate  from  an  approved  school  is  presented), 
and  in  such  elective  studies  as  shall  be  chosen  by  the  candidate  and 
approved  by  the  Faculty. 

Candidates  coming  from  other  colleges  must  submit  their  certifi- 
cates and  their  courses  of  study  to  the  judgment  of  the  Faculty. 
No  student  will  be  received  as  a  candidate  for  the  degree  of  Bach- 
elor of  Arts  after  the  beginning  of  the  Senior  year. 

PAINTING    AND    MUSIC. 

Instruction  in  the  history  and  theory  of  the  arts  is  offered  among 
the  courses  of  the  College.  Instruction  in  the  practice  of  the  arts 
is  also  furnished,  but  this  is  not  counted  toward  the  degree. 

The  College  aims  to  recognize  the  true  place  of  these  studies  in 
higher  education,  and  provides  full  facilities  for  those  who  are 
able  to  meet  the  requirements  for  admission  to  the  Freshman 
Class. 

These  are  the  requirements,  it  must  be  remembered, 
for  admission  to  the  freshman  class,  the  lowest  class  in 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  35 

the  college ;  and  there  is  a  long  step  between  the  gram- 
mar school  and  the  ability  to  pass  this  or  any  other 
college  examination.  The  college  authorities  give  the 
following  estimate  of 

EXPENSES   AT    VASSARo 

The  charge  to  all  students  who  reside  in  the  College  is  .  $400 
This  includes  tuition  (§100)  in  all  college  studies, 
board,  and  the  washing  of  one  dozen  plain  pieces  weekly. 
Extra  Avashing  is  charged  for  at  fixed  rates.  A  reasona- 
ble charge  is  made  for  breakages  and  for  chemicals  used 
in  the  laboratories. 

(In  1900-1901  and  thereafter  board  will  be  charged 
in  the  Christmas  and  spring  vacations  at  the  rate 
of  $6  per  week.) 
Of  the  $400  there  is  due  on  entrance     .....       300 

And  on  March  first .100 

Graduates  of  the  College,  in  residence,  pursuing  advanced 

work  are  charged 300 

(All  graduate  students  will  hereafter  be  charged  at 
the  same  rate  as  undergraduates.) 
Non-resident  graduates  are  charged  for  instruction   at  the 

College 50 

Day  students  are  charged      .         .         .         .         .         .         .115 

Of  the  $115  there  is  due  at  entrance     .....         75 

Drawing  or  painting,  for  special  students  in  art  .         .       100 

Drawing  or  painting  for  students   in  the    regular   college 

course 50 

For  solo  singing,  two  lessons  a  week     .....       150 

For  the  violin,  two  lessons  a  week 100 

For  the  piano-forte,  two  lessons  a  week,  and  one  period  for 

daily  practice 100 

Special  students  in  music  may  have  an  additional  prac- 
tice period  free  of  charge. 

For  the  organ,  two  lessons  a  week 100 

For  the  use  of  the  chapel  organ  one  period  daily  .  $2  a  month 

For  the  use  of  a  piano  for  an  additional  period  daily    .  $1  a  month 

For  extra  lessons  additional  charge  is  made  at  the  same 
rate  as  above. 


36  HELPS  FOE  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

Students  who  do  not  take  lessons  may  have  the  use  of  a 
piano  for  a  daily  practice  period  at  one  dollar  a  month. 

The  charges  for  medical  attendance  are  as  follows  : 

Office  consultations $0.25 

Visits  to  rooms      .........        .50 

Prescriptions 25 

Infirmary    (including   medical    attendance,    medicine,    and 

meals),  per  day 1.50 

For  prolonged  illness  and  in  cases  of  contagious  disease, 
a  special  nurse  is  employed  and  the  expenses  are  charged  to 
the  patient. 

Day  students  are  charged  regular  rates  for  office  consultations. 
Visits  to  their  rooms  are  at  the  discretion  of  the  physician  and 
are  charged  for  by  her  at  physician's  rates. 

Every  meal  taken  to  a  room  is  charged  extra. 

Text-books,  stationery,  drawing  instruments,  and  similar  articles 
can  be  obtained  at  the  College  at  current  prices. 

Students  supply  their  own  towels,  and  napkins  for  the  table. 

DEDUCTIONS. 

No  deduction  will  be  made  from  the  charge  for  tuition.  Any 
student  entering  within  the  first  fire  weeks  Avill  be  charged  from 
the  beginning  of  the  year.  Students  received  at  any  time  after  the 
first  five  weeks  are  charged  pro  rata  for  board  for  the  remainder 
of  the  year.  If  an  applicant  has  engaged  a  room,  and  it  has  been 
retained  for  her,  she  will  be  charged  for  it  from  the  beginning  of 
the  semester. 

The  date  of  withdrawal  of  a  student  is  reckoned  from  the  time 
when  the  president  is  informed  of  the  fact  by  the  parent  or 
guardian. 

No  deduction  is  made  for  absences  during  the  year,  or  in  case  of 
withdrawal  during  the  last  five  weeks  of  the  year. 

CORRESPONDENCE. 

The  post-office  address  of  the  College  is  Vassar  College,  Pough- 
keepsie,  N.  Y. 

Letters  respecting  the  admission  and  dismission  of  students, 
their  studies,  etc.,  and  requests  for  catalogues  should  be  addressed 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  37 

to  the  secretary.  Communications  in  reference  to  rooms  and  the 
personal  welfare  of  the  students  should  be  made  to  the  lady 
principal. 

Letters  pertaining  to  the  finances  of  the  College,  including  all 
claims  and  accounts,  should  be  addressed  to  the  treasurer ;  those 
relating  to  the  general  business  of  the  College,  to  the  superinten- 
dent. 

teachers'  registry. 

A  registry  of  the  names  of  students  and  graduates  who  desire  to 
teach  is  kept  by  the  College.  The  alumnae  who  are  interested  in 
it  are  requested  to  keep  the  authorities  informed  of  changes  in 
their  residence.  The  president  will  be  pleased  to  correspond  with 
any  who  desire  teachers. 

Yassar  College  is  open  to  girls  and  women  only.  One 
of  the  largest  of  the  co-educational  colleges  is  Cornell 
University,  at  Ithaca,  1ST.Y.  The  requirements  for  admis- 
sion to  Cornell  are  of  the  same  general  character  as  those 
at  Vassar ;  but  the  estimates  of  the  annual  expense,  in 
which  no  two  colleges  are  alike,  are  as  follows : 

EXPENSES   AT   CORNELL. 

The  annual  tuition  fee,  in  the  College  of  Law,  in  the  State  Vet- 
erinary College,  and  the  College  of  Forestry  (except  as  below),  and 
in  the  courses  in  Arts,  Philosophy,  and  Science,  for  both  graduates 
and  undergraduates,  is  $100,  $40  to  be  paid  at  the  beginning  of  the 
first  term,  $35  at  the  beginning  of  the  second,  and  $25  at  the  be- 
ginning of  the  third ;  in  all  other  courses  (except  as  below) ,  for 
both  graduates  and  undergraduates  (including  candidates  for  ad- 
vanced degrees  in  absentia  in  which  case  the  whole  fee  is  to  be 
paid  in  advance),  and  for  special  students,  it  is  $125,  $50  to  be 
paid  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  term,  $40  at  the  beginning  of  the 
second,  and  $35  at  the  beginning  of  the  third.  The  annual  tuition 
fee  in  the  Medical  College  is  $150. 

These  fees  must  be  paid  at  the  office  of  the  treasurer  within 
twenty  days  after  the  registration  day  announced  in  the  calendar. 

Tuition  is  free  to  students  with  State  scholarships  ;  to  New  York 
State  students  in  the  State  Veterinary  College  and  in  the  College 


38  HELPS  FOR     AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

of  Forestry ;  to  students  pursuing  the  prescribed  course  in  Agri- 
culture and  intending  to  complete  that  course ;  and  to  special  and 
graduate  students  in  Agriculture  taking  at  least  two-thirds  of  their 
entire  work  in  the  departments  of  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  in 
the  courses  in  agricultural  chemistry  and  economic  entomology. 

Students  taking  work  in  Sibley  College  are  charged  $5  per  term 
for  material  and  extra  expenses. 

An  incidental  fee  of  $5  per  term,  to  cover  cost  of  materials  used, 
is  required  of  all  students  in  Agriculture,  except  those  in  the  first 
two  years  of  the  regular  course. 

A  fee  of  $5,  to  cover  expenses  of  graduation,  degrees,  etc.,  is 
charged  to  each  person  taking  the  baccalaureate  degree.  This  fee 
must  be  paid  at  least  ten  days  before  Commencement. 

The  fee  charged  for  an  advanced  degree  is  $10,  and  it  must  in 
all  cases  be  paid  at  least  ten  days  before  Commencement. 

Students  residing  in  University  buildings  must  pay  their  room 
bills  one  term  in  advance.  All  the  members  of  the  University  are 
held  responsible  for  any  injury  done  by  them  to  its  property. 

The  expense  of  text-books,  instruments,  etc.,  varies  from  $25  to 
$75  per  annum. 

The  cost  of  living  in  Ithaca,  including  board,  room,  fuel,  and 
lights,  varies  from  $4  to  $10  per  week.  By  the  formation  of 
clubs,  students  are  sometimes  able  to  reduce  their  expenses  to  $3.50 
per  week  for  room  and  board,  and  occasionally  to  even  less  than 
that  amount. 

A  fair  estimate  of  the  yearly  expenses  is  from  $300  to  $500,  but 
much  depends  upon  the  personal  tastes  of  the  student. 

The  cost  for  board,  rent  of  furnished  room,  fuel  and  lights,  in 
Sage  College  and  Sage  College  Cottage,  which  are  exclusively  for 
women,  varies  from  $5  to  $6.50  a  week.  A  student  occupying 
alone  one  of  the  best  rooms  pays  $6.50  a  week.  If  two  occupy 
such  a  room  together,  the  price  is  $5.75.  Those  occupying  less 
desirable  rooms,  with  two  in  a  room,  pay  $5  a  week  each.  Both 
buildings  are  warmed  by  steam,  lighted  by  electricity,  and,  in  most 
cases,  the  sleeping  apartment  is  separated  from  the  study. 

Letters  of  inquiry  in  regard  to  board  and  rooms  at  the  Sage  Col- 
lege and  the  Cottage  should  be  addressed  to  Mr.  G.  F.  Foote,  Busi- 
ness Manager  of  Sage  College,  Ithaca,  N.Y. 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  39 

SMITH   COLLEGE. 

Smith  College,  at  Northampton,  Mass.,  "  is  not  intended 
to  fit  women  for  a  particular  sphere  or  profession,"  in 
the  language  of  its  catalogue,  "  but  to  give  them  a  broad 
and  liberal  culture,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  preserve 
and  develop  the  characteristics  of  a  complete  woman- 
hood." It  is  classed  among  the  largest  of  the  women's 
colleges,  with  more  than  one  thousand  one  hundred  stu- 
dents.    The  following  are  the 

REQUIREMENTS    FOR   ADMISSION   TO    THE    FIRST     CLASS    AFTER    1900. 

The  subjects  required  of  candidates  for  admission  to  college  are 
classed  under  three  heads  :  I.,  Absolute  requirements ;  II.,  Alter- 
native requirements;  and  III.,  Optional  requirements.  Optional 
requirements,  with  the  exception  of  Latin  and  Greek,  may  be  pre- 
sented under  four  forms  —  the  Elementary,  the  Minor,  the  Major, 
and  the  Maximum  requirements.  In  Latin  and  Greek  nothing  less 
than  the  Minor  requirement  will  be  considered. 

The  Elementary  requires  that  the  candidate  shall  have  pursued 
the  subject  in  a  systematic  course  of  five  periods  of  recitation  a 
week  for  one  year. 

The  Minor  requires  that  the  candidate  shall  have  pursued  the 
subject  in  a  systematic  course  of  five  periods  of  recitation  a  week 
for  two  years,  except  in  Latin,  where  it  requires  three  years. 

The  Major  requires  that  the  candidate  shall  have  pursued  the 
subject  in  a  systematic  course  of  five  periods  a  week  for  three 
years,  except  in  Latin,  where  it  requires  four  years. 

The  Maximum  requires  that  the  subject  be  pursued  for  one  year 
beyond  the  Major  requirement  in  a  systematic  course  of  four 
periods  a  week. 

Absolute  requirements  :  \     n^  1S  * 

I  Mathematics. 
Alternative  requirements  : 

Group  A,  |  A  Major  in  Latin, 

I A  Major  in  Greek. 
An  Elementary  in   Greek   and 
Group  B,  I     Roman  History. 

An  Elementary  in  English  and 
American  History. 


40  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

Optional  requirements : 

/Greek. 
\  Latin. 
MaJor  <French. 
/  German. 

/Greek. 
Latin. 
French. 
German. 
History. 
Minor  <J  Chemistry. 
Physics. 
Physical  Science.     (A  year  each  in  Physics  and 

Chemistry.) 
Biology.    (A  year  each  in  Botany  and  Zoology.) 
^Astronomy. 
'French. 
German. 
Chemistry. 
Elementary  /Physics. 
1  Zoology. 
Botany. 
Physiography. 

Every  candidate  must  present  for  examination  : 

1.  The  two  absolute  requirements  ; 

2.  One  of  each  group  of  alternative  requirements ; 

3.  A  Major  or  two  Minors  of  the  optional  requirements; 

4.  One  Elementary. 

Advanced  work  beyond  the  entrance  requirements  in  English  or 
Mathematics,  or  the  Maximum  in  Latin,  Greek,  French,  or  German, 
will  be  taken  as  a  substitute  for  the  Elementary  requirement.  No 
certificate  will  be  accepted  for  this  advanced  work  on  Maximums ; 
and,  when  presented  as  a  substitute  for  the  Elementary  require- 
ment, it  will  not  be  counted  toward  the  Academic  degree. 

The  estimate  of  the  periods  of  study  necessary  to  prepare  for 
the  Elementary  and  advanced  requirements  in  Greek,  French,  and 
German  is  based  on  the  assumption  that  a  candidate  has  begun  the 
study  of  Latin  at  least  a  year  earlier,  and  has  continued  it  along 
with  the  other  language  study,  otherwise  the  periods  specified  would 
not  be  sufficient. 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  41 

English. — .1,  Reading  and  Practice. — A  certain  number  of 
books  will  be  set  for  reading.  The  candidate  will  be  required 
to  present  evidence  of  a  general  knowledge  of  the  subject- 
matter,  and  to  answer  simple  questions  on  the  lives  of  the  au- 
thors. The  form  of  examination  will  be  the  writing  of  a  para- 
graph or  two  on  each  of  several  topics,  to  be  chosen  by  the 
candidate  from  a  considerable  number  —  perhaps  ten  or  fifteen 
—  set  before  her  in  the  examination  paper.  The  treatment 
of  these  topics  is  designed  to  test  the  candidate's  power  of  clear 
and  accurate  expression,  and  will  call  for  only  a  general  knowl- 
edge of  the  substance  of  the  books.  In  addition  to  this  test, 
the  candidate  will  be  allowed  to  present  an  exercise  book,  prop- 
erly certified  by  her  instructor,  containing  compositions  or 
other  written  work  done  in  connection  with  the  reading  of  the 
books. 

The  books  set  for  Reading  and  Practice  in  1903,  1904,  and 
1905  are  Shakespeare's  The  Merchant  of  Venice  and  Julius 
Ccesar;  The  Sir  Roger  de  Coverley  Papers  in  The  Spectator; 
Goldsmith's  The  Vicar  of  Wakefield ;  Coleridge's  The  Ancient 
Mariner  ;  Scott's  Ivanhoe  ;  Carlyle's  Essay  on  Burns  ;  Tenny- 
son's The  Princess;  Lowell's  The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal ; 
George  Eliot's  Silas  Marner. 

The  books  set  for  Study  and  Practice  in  1903,  1904,  and 
1905  are  Shakespeare's  Macbeth;  Milton's  Lycidas,  Comus, 
IS  Allegro,  and  II  Penseroso ;  Burke's  Speech  on  Conciliation 
with  America;  Macaulay's  Essays  on  Milton  and  Addison. 

In  1902  candidates  will  be  allowed  to  offer  for  examination 
either  the  list  for  1902  or  that  for  1903-5. 
Mathematics.  —  Algebra :  factors,  common  divisors  and  multiples, 
fractions,  ratio,  proportion  and  variation,  inequalities,  powers 
and  roots,  the  doctrine  of  exponents,  equations  of  the  first  and 
second  degrees,  radicals  and  equations  involving  radicals, 
arithmetical  and  geometrical  progressions,  as  in  Wells  or 
Wentworth. 

Plane  Geometry,  as  in  the  first  five  books  of  "Wells  or  Went- 
worth. 

Note.  —  There  will  be  no  formal  examination  in  Arithmetic,  but  famil- 
iarity with  its  processes  is  presupposed. 

Latin.  — I.  Preliminary  requirement  which  constitutes  the  Minor  : 
(a.)     The  translation   at  sight  of  simple  Latin  prose  and 
verse. 


42  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

(6.)  A  thorough  examination  on  Orations  II.,  III.,  and  IV., 
of  Cicero  against  Catiline,  directed  to  testing  the  candidate's 
mastery  of  the  ordinary  forms,  constructions,  and  idioms  of 
the  language ;  the  test  to  consist,  in  part,  of  writing  simple 
Latin  prose,  involving  the  use  of  such  words,  constructions, 
and  idioms  only  as  occur  in  the  speeches  prescribed. 

II.  Final  requirement  which,  with  the  Minor,  constitutes 
the  Major : 

(a.)  The  translation  at  sight  of  passages  of  Latin  prose  and 
verse,  with  questions  on  ordinary  forms,  constructions  and 
idioms,  and  on  prosody. 

{b.)  The  translation  into  Latin  prose  of  a  passage  of  con- 
nected English  narrative.  The  passage  set  for  translation  will 
be  based  on  some  portion  of  the  Latin  prose  works  usually 
read  in  preparation  for  college,  and  will  be  limited  to  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  those  works. 
Tor  students  who  are  to  enter  by  certificate,  the  requirements 
will  be  as  follows  : 

Grammar.  Four  books  of  Caesar's  Gallic  War  (or  an  equiva- 
lent amount  of  prose)  ;  seven  orations  of  Cicero  (the  Manilian 
law  may  count  as  two)  ;  and  six  books  of  Vergil's  iEneid 
(the  Eclogues  or  1,000  lines  of  Ovid's  Metamorphoses  will 
be  accepted  as  an  equivalent  for  one  book)  ;  the  translation 
at  sight  of  simple  passages  of  Latin  prose  and  verse;  the 
translation  into  Latin  of  passages  of  connected  narrative 
based  on  Orations  II.,  III.,  and  IV.  of  Cicero  against  Cati- 
line. Practice  in  reading  at  sight  and  in  writing  Latin,  with 
systematic  study  of  grammar,  pursued  through  the  four 
years.  The  Roman  method  of  pronunciation  is  used.  Satis- 
factory equivalents  will  be  accepted. 

The  following  Preparatory  Course  in  Latin  is  recommended : 
First  Year.  —  Five  lessons  a  week.  First  and  Second  Terms  : 
Introductory  Lessons.  Third  Term  :  Easy  reading  (Fables,  Viri 
Romae,  Eutropius,  etc.).  Practice  in  reading  at  sight  and  in  writ- 
ing Latin.     Systematic  study  of  grammar  begun. 

Second  Year  —  Five  lessons  a  week.  First  Term  :  Easy  reading 
continued.  Nepos.  Second  Term:  Caesar  (Gallic  War,  2  books). 
Third  Term:  Ovid  (Metamorphoses,  800-1,000  lines).  Practice 
in  reading  at  sight  and  in  writing  Latin,  with  systematic  study  of 
grammar  throughout  the  year. 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  43 

Third  year.  —  Fire  lessons  a  week.  First  Term  :  Vergil  (iEneid 
I.),  Cicero  (speeches,  begun),  or  Sallust  (selections  from  the  Cati- 
line). Practice  in  reading  at  sight  and  in  writing  Latin.  Grammar. 
Second  and  Third  Terms:  Cicero  (speeches  continued).  Caesar, 
Ovid,  etc.  (mainly  for  practice  in  reading  at  sight).  Thorough 
study  of  text  prescribed  for  the  preliminary  examination  (about  30 
pages  of  Cicero,  Teubner  text),  with  practice  in  writing  Latin  based 
upon  it»     Grammar. 

Fourth  Year.  —  Five  lessons  a  week.  Cicero.  Vergil.  Selec- 
tions from  other  prose  and  verse.  Practice  in  reading  at  sight  and 
in  writing  Latin.     Grammar. 

Greek.  —  I.      Preliminary    requirement   which    constitutes    the 
Minor : 

(a.)  The  translation  at  sight  of  simple  Attic  prose. 
(6.)  A  thorough  examination  on  the  second  book  of  Xeno- 
phon's  Anabasis,  directed  to  testing  the  candidate's  mastery 
of  the  ordinary  forms,  constructions,  and  idioms  of  the  lan- 
guage ;  the  test  to  consist,  in  part,  of  writing  simple  Attic 
prose,  involving  the  use  of  such  words,  constructions,  and 
idioms  only  as  occur  in  the  portion  of  Xenophon  prescribed. 

II.  Final  requirement  which,  with  the  Minor,  constitutes 
the  Major : 

(a.)  Translation  at  sight  of  passages  of  Attic  prose  and  of 
Homer;  with  questions  on  ordinary  forms,  constructions  and 
idioms,  and  on  prosody. 

(b.)  The  translation  into  Attic  prose  of  a  passage  of  con- 
nected English  narrative.  The  passage  set  for  translation  will 
be  based  on  some  portion  of  the  Greek  prose  works  usually 
read  in  preparation  for  college,  and  will  be  limited  to  the 
subject-matter  of  such  works. 
For  students  who  are  to  enter  by  certificate,  the  requirements 
will  be  as  follows  : 

Four  books  of  Xenophon's  Anabasis  ;  three  books  of  Homer's 
Iliad.     Satisfactory  equivalents  will  be  accepted.     Practice  in 
reading  at  sight  and  in  writing  Greek,  with  systematic  study 
of  grammar  pursued  through  the  three  years. 
The  following  Preparatory  Course  in  Greek  is  recommended : 
First  Year. — Five  lessons  a  week.     First  and  Second   Terms: 
Introductory  Lessons.     Third  Term:  Anabasis  (begun).    Practice 
in  reading   at  sight  and  in  writing  Greek.     Systematic  study  of 
grammar  begun. 


44  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Second  Year. — Five  lessons  a  week.  Anabasis  (continued), 
either  alone  or  with  other  Attic  prose.  Practice  in  reading  at 
sight.  Systematic  study  of  grammar.  Thorough  study  of  text 
prescribed  for  the  preliminary  examination  (about  thirty  pages  of 
Xenophon,  Teubner  text),  with  practice  in  writing  Greek  based 
upon  it. 

Third  Year.  —  Five  lessons  a  week.     Homer,  three-fourths  of 
the  time.     Attic  prose,  with  practice  in  writing  Greek,  one-fourth. 
Grammar.     Practice  in  reading  at  sight. 
History.  —  I.     Elementary  requirement : 

1.  Greek  and  Roman  History,  (a)  Greek  History  to  the 
death  of  Alexander,  with  due  reference  to  Greek  life,  litera- 
ture, and  art;  (b)  Roman  History  to  the  death  of  Marcus 
Aurelius,  with  due  reference  to  literature  and  government. 
The  student  must  also  be  familiar  with  the  outlines  of  Greek 
and  Roman  geography. 

2.  English  and  American  History,  (a)  English  History 
with  due  reference  to  social  development  and  the  growth  of 
political  institutions  ;  (b)  American  History  with  elements  of 
Civil  Government.  The  geographical  knowledge  of  the  can- 
didate will  also  be  tested. 

II.     Minor  requirement : 

Any  two  of  the  following  courses  may  be  offered  for  the 
Minor,  except  that  neither  course  3  nor  course  4  may  be 
offered  in  conjunction  with  course  2.  In  this  list  of  subjects 
the  department  of  History  desires  to  avail  itself  of  the  work  at 
present  done  by  the  preparatory  schools,  and  also  to  facilitate 
the  adoption  by  them  of  the  recommendations  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Seven. 

1.  Greek  and  Roman  History,  (a)  Greek  History  to  the 
destruction  of  Corinth;  (b)  Roman  History  to  the  death  of 
Constantine.  Open  to  those  candidates  only  who  have  offered 
English  and  American  History  as  the  alternative  requirement. 

2.  English  History  and  American  History.  Open  to  those 
candidates  only  who  have  offered  Greek  and  Roman  History  as 
the  alternative  requirement. 

3.  English  History. 

4.  American  History. 

5.  Mediaeval  and  Modern  European  History. 

6.  A  year's  detailed  study  of  a  limited  period,  selected  with 
the  approval  of  the  department  of  History. 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  45 

French.  — I,     Elementary  requirement : 

(a.)  Grammar.  A  knowledge  of  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  grammar  is  required.  Special  attention  should  be 
given  to  the  inflection  of  nouns  and  adjectives,  the  use  of  all 
the  pronouns,  the  conjugation  of  regular  verbs  and  the  com- 
moner irregular  ones,  and  the  elementary  rules  of  word  order. 
The  proficiency  of  the  student  will  be  tested  by  questions  on 
the  above  topics,  and  by  translation  into  French  of  simple 
English  sentences. 

(6.)  Translation.  Ability  to  translate  at  sight  easy  French 
prose  into  English.  This  can  be  acquired  by  reading  not  less 
than  200  duodecimo  pages  of  French,  such  as  Joyne's  Fairy 
Tales  (Heath)  ;  Kuhn's  French  Reading  (Holt) ;  Ernault's 
Le  Chien  du  Capitaine. 

No  conditions  will  be  allowed  in  this  course,  and  certificates 
will  be  accepted  only  for  students  who  have  studied  French 
during  the  year  preceding  their  entrance  to  college. 

II.     Minor  requirement : 

(a.)  Grammar.  Candidates  will  be  expected  to  have  ac- 
quired a  knowledge  of  accidence,  the  correct  use  of  all  pro- 
nouns, of  modes  and  tenses  of  all  verbs,  regular  and  irregular, 
a  familiarity  with  the  essentials  of  French  syntax  and  the 
commoner  idiomatic  phrases.  The  candidate's  knowledge  of 
grammar,  as  well  as  her  ability  to  use  grammatical  forms  and 
structure,  will  be  tested  by  direct  questions  and  by  the  transla- 
tion into  French  of  simple  connected  English  sentences. 

(6.)  Translation.  Ability  to  translate  at  sight  standard 
modern  French,  to  be  acquired  by  reading,  in  addition  to  the 
elementary  requirement,  not  less  than  400  duodecimo  pages  of 
prose,  which  may  be  chosen  from  any  of  the  following  books  : 
Malot,  Sans  Famille  (Jenkins) ;  Sandeau,  Mile,  dela  Seigliere, 
the  play  (Holt);  Loti,  Pecheur  d'Islande  (Heath).  It  is 
strongly  recommended  that  some  work  like  Super's  Readings 
from  French  History  (Allyn  and  Bacon)  be  read  and  studied 
for  its  subject-matter  as  well  as  for  the  practice  it  affords  in 
translation.  It  is  important  that  the  passages  set  be  rendered 
into  clear  and  idiomatic  English. 

(c.)  Composition.  Ability  to  write  in  French  a  paragraph 
dictated  from  some  of  the  books  read,  and  to  translate  at  sight 
a  passage  of  easy  English  prose  into  French. 


46  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

(d.)  For  composition-work  Fasnacht's  First  Course  in 
French  Composition  (Macmillan)  is  recommended. 

If  the  student  wishes  to  continue  the  study  of  French  in 
college  she  will  need  additional  drill  in  understanding  the 
spoken  language  and  in  using  it  in  reply  to  questions  asked 
on  the  subject-matter  read. 

III.     Major  requirement : 

(a.)  Grammar.  In  addition  to  the  points  mentioned  in  the 
Minor  requirement  in  grammar,  the  student  will  be  expected 
to  have  acquired  a  more  complete  knowledge  of  syntax,  as 
well  as  greater  correctness  in  the  application  of  rules  and  a 
freer  use  of  idiomatic  expressions. 

(b.)  Translation.  It  is  believed  that  the  necessary  profi- 
ciency in  translation  at  sight  can  be  acquired  by  reading,  in 
addition  to  the  Minor  requirement,  no  less  than  four  hundred 
duodecimo  pages  of  prose  and  poetry  which  may  be  chosen 
from  any  of  the  following  works :  Scribe  et  Legouve,  La 
Bataille  de  Dames  (Heath) ;  Balzac,  Le  Cure  de  Tours 
(Heath)  ;  Bowen's  French  Lyrics ;  V.  Hugo's  La  Chute,  Bug 
Jar  gal  (Heath)  ;  Michelet,  Abrege  d'histoire  de  France  Temps 
modernes.  In  the  last  named,  it  is  strongly  recommended  that 
the  part  relating  to  the  seventeenth  century  be  carefully  stud- 
ied with  reference  to  its  subject-matter  and  also  as  a  basis  for 
carefully  prepared  abstracts  by  the  students.  Passages  set 
for  translation  must  be  rendered  into  clear  and  idiomatic 
English. 

(c.)  Composition.  Ability  to  translate  into  French  at  sight 
a  paragraph  of  ordinary  English,  to  write  a  resum6  of  any  of 
the  book3  read,  to  follow  a  recitation  conducted  in  French, 
and  to  answer  in  that  language  questions  asked  by  the  in- 
structor. 

Note.  —  Proficiency  in  composition  can  be  obtained  by  the  thorough  study  of 
any  standard  grammar,  by  oral  and  written  exercises,  by  memorizing,  by  con- 
versation, by  dictation,  and  by  composition,  if  carefully  corrected.  Books  sug- 
gested are  Francois'  French  Composition,  or  Grandgent's  French  Composition, 
first  three  parts,  or  Blouet's  French  Composition,  Part  I.  and  half  of  Part  II. 
Where  great  proficiency  in  French  is  desired  the  study  of  the  language  ought  to 
be  begun  early,  when  a  pure  pronunciation  and  readiness  of  expression  are 
more  easily  acquired.  As  this,  however,  is  not  always  possible,  it  is  recom- 
mended that,  from  the  outset,  attention  be  given  to  correct  pronunciation,  and 
that  during  the  whole  course  of  preparation  the  pupil  be  accustomed  to  hear 
and  understand  the  spoken  language.    The  reading  of  the  French  classics  of  the 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  47 

seventeenth  century  is  not  advised  as  a  substitute  for  the  works  mentioned  In 
the  requirement,  as  the  average  pupil  of  the  secondary  school  is  not  sufficiently 
developed  for  that  grade  of  work.  In  no  case  should  it  be  attempted  before  the 
fourth  year  of  the  High  School  course. 

German.  —  I.   Elementary  requirement : 

(a.)  Grammar.  A  knowledge'  of  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  grammar  is  required.  This  includes  declension  of 
articles,  adjectives,  pronouns,  and  nouns  readily  classified; 
conjugation  of  weak  and  strong  verbs ;  the  use  of  the  com- 
moner prepositions  ;  simple  use  of  modal  auxiliaries  ;  and  the 
elements  of  syntax. 

(i.)  Translation.  Ability  to  read  correctly  and  to  trans- 
late into  good  English  simple  German  prose.  Ability  to  trans- 
late at  sight  simple  connected  English  into  correct  German, 
using  the  vocabulary  gained  in  the  above  reading.  This  can 
be  acquired  by  the  use  of  such  German  as  Marchen,  selections 
from  standard  readers,  tales  of  Volkmann,  Heyse,  and  others. 

(c.)  Composition.  Such  proficiency  as  may  be  gained  from 
the  use  of  exercises  found  in  books  like  Harris'  Composition, 
Part  I.  and  half  of  Part  II.  Equally  good  results  may  be 
gained  from  other  exercises  where  the  German  is  accompanied 
by  English  paraphrases  and  easy  narrative  selections  are  pro- 
vided for  translation  into  German.  Such  selections  should  be 
used  for  oral,  sight,  and  written  translation. 

II.  Minor  requirement : 
%(a.)  Grammar.  In  addition  to  the  Elementary  requirement, 
candidates  will  be  expected  to  have  acquired  knowledge  of  the 
correct  use  of  articles,  prepositions,  the  common  adverbs,  and 
conjunctions.  They  should  have  learned  the  syntax  of  cases, 
the  principal  uses  of  the  subjunctive  and  the  infinitive  moods, 
and  the  full  use  of  the  modal  auxiliaries. 

(b.)  Translation.  Ability  to  translate  at  sight  narrative 
prose  into  good  English,  and  connected  English  into  correct 
German.  This  can  be  acquired  by  reading  carefully  such 
narrative  prose  as  Fluch  der  Schonheit,  Riehl,  50  pp. ;  by 
reading  at  sight  Werke  der  Barmherzigkeity  Riehl,  50  pp. ; 
by  reading  carefully  and  also  at  sight  historical  prose,  such 
as  Axis  derm  Klosterleben,  Ereytag,  or  Aus  dem  Jahrhunde?-i 
des  Grossen  Krieges,  75-100  pp. ;  one  classic  play  of  Goethe, 
Egmont  or  Gb'tz  ;  classic  poetry,  Balladen,  Schiller,  or  Poems, 
Uhland. 


48  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

(c.)  Composition.  The  required  proficiency  may  be  ob- 
tained by  the  use  of  some  text-book  with  parallel  German- 
English  extracts  and  English-German  syntax,  such  as 
Fasnacht's  First  Course,  first  40  selections,  or  Wenckebach's 
Composition,  Part  I.,  entire.  These  exercises  should  be  used 
for  oral,  sight,  and  written  work. 

Note  1.  Students  wishing  to  continue  the  study  of  German  in  college  must 
secure  additional  practice  in  the  use  of  German  in  the  class-room.  They  should 
be  able  to  understand  spoken  German  and  to  give  replies  in  German  to  questions 
based  on  the  subject-matter  of  the  prescribed  books. 

Note  2.  Students  wishing  to  specialize  in  science  may  substitute  for  some  of 
the  prose  already  specified  that  of  a  German  Scientific  Reader.  The  work 
must  be  done  with  a  competent  teacher  and  under  conditions  which  insure  the 
student's  comprehension  of  the  subject-matter  of  the  texts  read.  The  composi- 
tion required  in  this  modification  of  the  Minor  will  cover  the  correct  use  of  the 
fundamental  principles  of  inflection  and  syntax  in  connected  description,  narra- 
tion, and  exposition  iu  scientific  writing. 

III.     Major  requirement : 

(a.)  Grammar.  Ability  to  use  correctly  ordinary  grammati- 
cal forms  and  syntax.  This  will  include  the  uses  and  mean- 
ings of  the  principal  prefixes  and  suffixes,  the  correct  use  of 
moods  and  tenses,  particles,  infinitives,  and  the  more  familiar 
idioms. 

(b.)  Translation.  In  addition  to  the  Minor  requirement,  the 
student  will  be  expected  to  have  (1)  ability  to  translate  at  sight 
narrative  and  historic  prose  into  good  English,  (2)  ability  to 
translate  at  sight  ordinary  English  into  correct  German,  (3) 
ability  to  follow  a  recitation  conducted  in  German,  and  to 
answer  in  connected  sentences  the  questions  of  the  instructor. 
This  may  be  gained  by  the  reading  and  study  of  about  500 
pages  of  German  literature,  in  which  the  historic  prose  and 
classic  (prose)  drama  of  the  Minor  may  be  counted.  Such 
works  as  .the  following  are  recommended :  Schiller,  historic 
prose;  Goethe,  Dichtung  und  Wdhrheit ;  the  narrative  prose 
of  Heine  or  Scheffel ;  two  classic  plays  :  Lessing,  Minna  von 
Barnhelm  ;  Goethe,  Iphigenie,  or  Schiller,  Wilhelm  Tell,  Die 
Jungfrau  von  Orleans,  Maria  Stuart. 

(c.)  Composition.  Such  proficiency  as  may  be  gained  from 
carefully  prepared  German  paraphrases  of  parts  of  the  pre- 
scribed texts.  Part  of  this  should  be  written,  part  prepared 
for  oral  recitation,  and  part  demanded  at  sight.  The  use  of 
such  books  as  Fasnacht's  First  Course  or  Wenkebach's  Com- 
position should  be  continued. 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  49 

For  the  Scientific  Requirements,  four  of  the  five  hours  a 
week  specified  should  be  given  to  laboratory  work,  and  the  fifth  to 
recitation. 

Chemistry.  —  I.  Elementary  requirement : 

A  course  of  at  least  sixty  experiments  performed  at  school 
by  the  pupil  and  accompanied  by  systematic  instruction  in  the 
principles  of  chemistry  and  their  application.  The  work  is 
such  as  is  covered  by  the  first  seventeen  chapters  of  Remsen's 
Introduction  to  the  Study  of  Chemistry.  The  candidate  is  re- 
quired to  pass  both  a  written  and  a  laboratory  examination. 
The  original  note-book  of  school  work,  endorsed  by  the 
teacher,  must  be  submitted  at  the  time  of  the  examination. 

II.     Minor  requirement : 

Specifications  for  the  Minor  in  chemistry  will  be  furnished 
on  application  to  the  Registrar. 

Physics.  —  I.     Elementary  requirement : 

The  preparation  should  cover  the  fundamental  principles  of 
the  subject,  as  represented  in  Avery's  School  Physics,  Crew's 
Elements  of  Physics,  Gage's  Elements  of  Physics,  or  Hall  and 
Bergen's  Text-Book  of  Physics  (Revised  edition).  Experi- 
mental demonstrations  should  form  an  important  part  of  the 
class-room  instruction,  and  the  student  should  be  practised  in 
the  solution  of  simple  problems.  Special  emphasis  should  be 
placed  throughout  the  course  upon  the  illustration  of  principles 
by  reference  to  phenomena  within  the  daily  experience  of  the 
students.  Forty  laboratory  experiments  should  be  performed 
by  each  student.  These  experiments  may  be  selected  from 
the  list  of  fifty-seven  experiments  published  in  the  "  Report 
of  the  Committee  of  Ten  on  Secondary  School  Studies,"  1894, 
or  from  the  Harvard  University  u  Descriptive  List  of  Elemen- 
tary Exercises  in  Physics."  Each  laboratory  exercise  should 
be  preceded  by  a  clear  statement  as  to  the  purpose  of  the  ex- 
periment and  the  manner  in  which  it  should  be  performed. 
Laboratory  note-books  containing  original  records  of  experi- 
ments performed  must  be  presented  by  the  pupil  before 
examination. 

II.     Minor  requirement : 

Specifications  for  the  Minor  in  Physics  will  be  furnished  on 
application  to  the  Registrar. 


50  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Botany.  —  I.  Elementary  requirement : 

The  course  in  Botany  should  include  the  elements  of  anat- 
omy, morphology,  physiology,  and  ecology,  especially  of  the 
higher  plants,  together  with  some  study  of  the  leading 
groups.  The  anatomy  and  morphology  may  be  as  taught 
hitherto  in  the  schools.  In  physiology  the  students  'should 
have  tried,  or  have  assisted  in  trying,  at  least  ten  experiments 
upon  important  physiological  processes.  In  ecology,  she 
should  have  made  some  observations  upon  the  adaptations  to 
environment  of  the  principal  organs,  upon  seed-dispersal  and 
cross-pollination,  and  upon  the  leading  ecological  and  natural 
groups  of  plants. 

The  way  in  which  the  student's  knowledge  and  training  are 
acquired  is  of  prime  importance ;  they  should  be  derived  from 
actual  laboratory  and  field  study,  so  directed  as  to  secure 
training  in  observation,  comparison,  and  generalization.  This 
will  be  judged  by  an  inspection  of  the  student's  laboratory 
note-book,  which  must  be  submitted  in  every  case,  and  which 
will  count  as  much  as,  or  more  than,  the  examination  in  deter- 
mining admission. 

The  work,  as  here  outlined,  is  covered  by  Bergen's  Ele- 
ments of  Botany  (Boston,  Ginn  &  Co.),  or  by  Atkinson's  Ele- 
mentary Botany  (New  York,  Holt  &  Co.),  and  it  is  described 
in  detail  in  Part  II.  of  Ganong's  Teaching  Botanist  (New 
York,  Macmillan  Co.). 

While  the  above  course  is  that  recommended,  equivalents 
for  parts  of  it  will  be  accepted  if  worked  out  in  the  same  man- 
ner ;  thus,  a  more  detailed  knowledge  of  the  leading  groups  of 
plants  may  be  offered,  or  scientific  knowledge  of  the  families 
of  the  flowering  plants.  But  mere  terminology,  or  any  purely 
mnemonic  knowledge  of  plants,  will  not  be  accepted. 

II.      Minor  requirement : 

Specifications  for  the  Minor  requirement  in  Botany  will  be 
furnished  on  application  to  the  Registrar. 

Zoology.  —  I.     Elementary  requirement : 

1.     Careful  laboratory  study,  with  notes  and  drawings,  of 
the  following  animals  or  their  equivalents  : 
Amoeba  Campanularia  Clam  Fly  Eish 

Paramoecium      Campanularian  medusa  Squid  Daphnia  Frog 

Leucoselenia      Turbellaria  Nereis  Cyclops 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  51 

Grantia  '.  Taenia  Lumbricus     Crayfish 

Hydra  Nematode  Grasshopper  Spider 

This  study  shall  include  (a)  the  external  parts,  (b)  the 
functions  of  parts  and  habits  of  the  living  animals  in  all  cases 
favorable  for  such  treatment,  (c)  dissection  or  microscopic 
examination  of  all  the  systems,  internal  as  well  as  external,  of 
the  frog  and  nine  other  animals  which  are  included  in  the  above 
group. 

2.  A  careful  comparative  study  of  the  skeletons  of  the 
following  higher  vertebrates  or  their  equivalents :  Turtle, 
Lizard,  Bird,  Cat,  Man. 

3.  Lectures  or  recitations,  one  hour  a  week,  upon  general 
principles  of  Zoology,  including  a  brief  synopsis  of  animal 
classification. 

4.  Books  of  reference.  As  no  single  book  seems  available 
to  the  student  exactly  covering  the  ground  specified,  the  fol- 
lowing list  is  given,  to  be  kept  in  the  laboratory  and  used  for 
reference:  1.  (a)  and  (b).  A  recent  pamphlet  by  Dr.  C.  B. 
Davenport,  of  the  University  of  Chicago,  giving  the  outline  of 
a  course  required  for  admission  to  the  Lawrence  Scientific 
School  of  Harvard  University.  1.  (c)  Brooks'  Handbook  of 
Invertebrate  Zoology  (S.  E.  Cassino)  ;  Bumpus,  Invertebrate 
Zoology  (Henry  Holt  &  Co.);  Ecker  &  Wiedersheim,  The 
Anatomy  of  the  Frog,  translated  by  Haslam  (Clarendon  Press, 
Oxford),  preferably  the  new  revision  of  the  same  by  Gaupp 
in  the  original  (Fischer,  Jena).  2.  Elower,  Osteology  of  the 
M ammalia  (Macmillan)  ;  Reynolds,  The  Vertebrate  Skeleton  ; 
Kingsley,  Vertebrate  Zoology  (Henry  Holt  &Co.).  4.  Parker 
&  Haswell,  Text  Book  of  Zoology  (Macmillan) . 

II.     Minor  requirement : 

Specifications  for  the  Minor  in  Zoology  will  be  furnished  on 
application  to  the  Registrar. 
Astronomy.  —  Minor  requirement : 

The  work  presented  must  include  the  elements  of  descrip- 
tive astronomy,  with  special  reference  to  time  problems ;  a 
good  working  knowledge  of  almanacs,  ephemerides,  star  maps, 
and  globes ;  and  thorough  familiarity  with  the  common  phe- 
nomena of  the  heavens.  Acquaintance  with  the  principal 
constellations  is  fundamental ;  and  it  is  essential  that  train- 
ing be  given  in  the  use  of  simple  apparatus  for  finding  angles 
and  time. 


52  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Among  the  observations  which  should  receive  special  atten- 
tion are :  Location  of  a  meridian  line  by  the  sun  or  by  the 
North  Star  ;  determination  of  latitude  of  place  by  sun  and 
stars ;  mapping  ecliptic  and  constellations  with  reference  to 
the  horizon  at  different  seasons ;  tracing  diurnal  and  annual 
paths  of  heavenly  bodies ;  finding  the  error  of  a  common 
watch  by  several  independent  methods ;  examination  of  sun- 
spots,  lunar  markings,  double  stars,  and  star  clusters  with 
opera-glass  and  small  telescope. 

In  tests  for  admission  to  college,  the  emphasis  will  be 
placed  on  actual  knowledge  of  the  heavens  as  shown  espe- 
cially by  the  records  in  the  student's  note-book.  A  general 
idea  of  the  method  and  character  of  the  work  demanded  may 
be  obtained  from  the  Harvard  Outline  of  Requirements  in 
Astronomy. 

Where  more  detailed  specifications  are  desired,  application 
should  be  made  to  the  Registrar  of  the  college. 
It  is  recommended  that,  throughout   the   preparatory   course, 
special  attention  be  paid  to  the  student's  enunciation  and  general 
use  of  the  voice. 

REGISTRATION. 

Candidates  for  admission,  whether  by  certificate  or  examination, 
must  present  themselves  for  registration  in  College  Hall,  Room 
No.  1,  on  one  of  the  days  specified  in  the  Calendar. 

The  attention  of  candidates  who  present  themselves  for  exami- 
nation in  September,  is  especially  called  to  the  importance  of  regis- 
tration. Lists  of  names  of  those  who  have  registered  will  be  sent 
from  the  Registrar's  office  to  the  places  of  examination.  Without 
such  authorization,  examination  will  not  be  given ;  and  in  making 
good  the  omission  the  candidates  will  lose  valuable  time. 

EXAMINATIONS. 

Examinations  are  held  in  Northampton  in  June  and  September. 
Candidates  for  examination  are  requested  to  send  to  the  Registrar 
for  blank  forms  on  which  their  teachers  may  present  a  record  of 
their  preparation.  For  preliminary  examinations  such  statements 
will  be  required. 

In  June,  examinations  will  also  be  held  in  the  following  places  : 
New  York ;  Boston ;  Chicago  ;  St.  Louis  ;  Cleveland  ;  Pasadena ; 
Seattle. 


THE  BEST  EDUCATION.  53 

Persons  desiring  examinations  at  other  places  than  those  above- 
mentioned  may  forward  their  requests  to  the  Registrar  of  Smith 
College.  As  far  as  possible,  arrangements  will  be  made  for  such 
examinations  when  there  are  two  or  more  candidates. 

Following  is  the  estimate  of  yearly  expenses  made  by 
the  authorities  of  Smith  College : 

EXPENSES  AT  SMITH  COLLEGE. 

The  price  of  tuition  for  all  students  is  $100  a  year.  The 
charge  for  board  and  furnished  room  in  the  College  houses  is  $300 
a  year.  This  sum  includes  the  washing  of  one  dozen  plain  pieces 
weekly. 

One-half  of  the  annual  fees  for  tuition  and  board  must  be  paid 
in  advance  at  the  beginning  of  each  semester.  Five  per  cent,  will 
be  added  to  all  bills  which  are  unpaid  at  the  end  of  the  first  month. 
No  deduction  will  be  made  for  absences. 

Rooms  in  the  College  houses  may  be  secured  in  advance  upon 
the  payment  of  ten  dollars,  which  sum  will  be  credited  on  the  bill 
for  the  first  semester  after  such  rooms  are  assigned ;  or  it  will  be 
returned  if  the  room  is  not  desired,  provided  such  notice  is  given 
one  month  before  the  beginning  of  the  fall  term.  No  room  can  be 
engaged  for  a  shorter  period  than  one  year.  It  is  necessary  to 
apply  early  in  order  to  secure  a  room  in  the  College  dwelling- 
houses.  Applications  should  be  made  to  the  Registrar.  Each 
applicant  should  state  her  full  name  and  the  course  she  intends  to 
pursue.  The  assignment  of  rooms  is  made  in  the  order  of  applica- 
tion. Students  of  the  regular  courses  have  precedence  over 
members  of  the  Art  and  Music  Schools.  Each  student  must  pro- 
vide her  own  towels ;  the  College  provides  beds,  bedding,  carpets, 
and  all  necessary  furniture.  An  extra  charge  is  made  for  meals 
sent  to  a  student's  room  or  for  extra  service. 

Those  who  prefer  may  obtain  board  in  private  families  at  an 
expense  varying  from  $4  to  $10  a  week,  according  to  accommoda- 
tions. Students  can  also  adapt  their  expenses  to  their  means  by 
cooperative  housekeeping,  and  the  Mary  A.  Tenney  House  has 
been  bequeathed  to  assist  them  in  making  such  experiments. 

Students  of  Chemistry,  Botany,  and  Zoology  are  charged  a 
laboratory  fee  of  $5  per  semester  in  each  department.  Art  students 
pay  for  their  materials. 


54  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

In  all  these  estimates  of  expenses  the  actual  necessa- 
ries only  are  included :  room,  board,  and  a  little  washing, 
and,  in  some  cases,  books.  By  strict  economy  a  girl  may 
keep  her  expenses  down  to  $500  a  year.  Except  in  the 
larger  cities,  where  free  preparatory  tuition  may  in  some 
cases  be  had,  this  expense  must  be  met  for  seven  years 
after  leaving  the  common  school  —  three  years  in  the 
preparatory  school  and  four  years  in  college,  a  total  of 
$3,500.  I  add  up  the  figures  to  show  you  that  there  is 
something  to  be  considered  beside  the  mere  desire  to  be 
a  collegian.  A  self-supporting  girl,  or  one  who  is  to  be 
self-supporting,  must  ask  herself  about  this,  as  about 
most  other  matters,  "  Will  it  pay  ?  "  In  the  majority 
of  cases  a  collegiate  education  is  a  luxury  rather  than  a 
necessity. 

I  do  not  know  of  any  walk  that  a  woman  cares  to  enter  that 
she  would  now  find  closed  to  her  on  account  of  her  sex.  If  she 
has  the  business  sense  she  needs  nothing  more.  Opportunity  is  a 
good  thing,  but  a  determined  woman  will  make  it  for  herself  if  she 
does  not  find  it  at  hand.  —  Jeannette  L.  Gilder. 


EDUCATION  —  AN  ORNAMENT  IN  PROSPERITY.  35 


CHAPTER  IV. 

EDUCATION  AN      ORNAMENT     IN     PROSPERITY     AND     A 

REFUGE    IN    ADVERSITY. 

It  was  a  saying  of  Aristotle  that  education  is  an 
ornament  in  prosperity  and  a  refuge  in  adversity.  Being 
asked  how  much  educated  persons  were  superior  to  those 
lacking  in  education,  he  replied,  "  As  much  as  the  living 
are  to  the  dead." 

Truly  there  is  a  tide  in  the  affairs  of  men ;  but  there 
is  no  Gulf  Stream  setting  forever  in  one  direction. — 
Ja?nes  Russell  Lowell. 

It  was  in  making  education  not  only  common  to  all, 
but  in  some  sense  compulsory  on  all,  that  the  destiny  of 
the  free  republics  of  America  was  practically  settled.  — 
James  Russell  Lowell. 

In  vain  sedate  reflections  we  would  make 
When  half  our  knowledge  we  must  snatch,  not  take. 

Pope. 

It  is  the  general  training  of  habit  and  intelligence  that 
comes  first,  and  of  which  I  am  going  to  speak,  especially 
of  that  part  of  general  training  that  comes  with  school- 
ing, or  school  instruction.  I  purposely  write  "  school- 
ing "  and  "  instruction,"  because  I  do  not  wish,  even  by 
a  chance  word,  to  lend  any  countenance  to  that  loose  and 
inaccurate  habit  of  thought  and  speech  that  leads  us  to 


56  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

speak  sometimes  of  education  as  if  it  were  the  same 
thing  as  learning  lessons  out  of  a  book,  or  as  if  it  were 
only  while  the  girls  sit  in  the  schoolroom  that  their 
characters  are  being  formed.  That  is  the  reverse  of  the 
truth.  Measured  by  any  standard,  there  is  more  of  what 
a  child  learns  out  of  school  than  of  what  she  is  taught 
in  it.  —  Edith  A.  Barnett.     \English.~\ 

The  habits  are  of  far  more  consequence  than  the 
learning.  Every  one  will  agree  that  the  school  is  not 
necessarily  the  best  which  turns  out  the  most  scholars  ; 
the  best  school  is  that  which  makes  its  pupils  most 
diligent,  most  hard-working,  most  faithful  in  the  daily 
affairs  of  life;  most  greedy  of  knowledge  and  most 
capable  of  gathering  it;  least  greedy  of  material  re- 
ward. If  we  could  say  for  certain  which  school  could 
do  this  we  should  have  settled  once  and  for  all  between 
home  tuition  and  school  life;  between  English  and 
foreign  schools ;  between  classics  and  science.  —  Edith  A. 
Barnett. 

Not  that  I  wish  to  undervalue  schooling.  I  think 
that  the  choice  of  the  mode  of  instruction  is  worth  far 
more  time  and  care  than  are  generally  bestowed  upon  it. 
But  I  am  nevertheless  sure  that  it  is  home  and  not 
school  influence  that  is  supreme  in  the  formation  of 
character.  We  must  all  notice  how  "  the  family  ways  " 
stick  to  all  the  girls,  though  perhaps  each  one  of  them 
went  to  a  different  school.  And  a  wise  organizer,  choos- 
ing her  subordinates,  always  asks  first  what  home  a  girl 
came  out  of,  and  afterwards  what  school  she  went  to.  — 
Edith  A.  Barnett. 

Ordinary  schooling  is  a  drug  in  the  labor  market.  It 
is  one  of  the  things  one  buys  to  have,  and  not  to  sell 


EDUCATION — AN  ORNAMENT  IN  PROSPERITY.  57 

again.  It  is  true  that  schooling  more  or  less  extraordi- 
nary does  fit  a  girl  for  one  profession  — that  of  the  school- 
teacher. Moreover,  it  is  certain  that  such  advantages 
as  mere  schooling  gives  are  becoming  less  valuable  as 
schooling  becomes  more  common.  When  few  men  could 
read  and  write,  he  who  could  do  both  was  in  constant 
employment.  But  to  write  a  fair  hand  and  to  read  print 
fluently  are  powers  that  now  confer  no  value  on  their 
possessor,  because  every  man  in  the  street  can  do  as 
much.  Time  was  when  an  ordinarily  good  education  was 
so  seldom  given  to  girls  that  almost  every  one  who  had 
been  to  school  could  earn  some  sort  of  living  as  private 
governess.  All  that  is  now  happily  changed.  —  Edith 
A.  Barnett. 

True  culture  ought  to  raise  us  above  the  circumstances 
of  our  own  narrow  lives.  If  we  always  look  at  things 
from  our  own  standpoint  we  are  sure  to  confuse  the 
essential  and  the  accidental ;  consequently  it  is  of  the 
greatest  value  to  us  to  bring  ourselves  into  a  position 
far  removed  from  our  own,  to  see  the  world  if  we  can 
with  the  eyes  of  one  of  a  different  race  and  time ;  and 
while  all  history  and  literature  will  help  us  to  do  this,  a 
foreign  language,  and  especially  a  dead  language,  helps 
us  more  than  anything  else,  —  for  the  very  words  (the 
names  of  utensils  or  of  the  parts  of  the  dress)  stand  for 
something  unfamiliar  in  our  daily  lives,  and  a  transla- 
tion, however  useful,  lessens  the  effect  by  bringing  every- 
thing a  little  nearer  our  own  standards.  —  Eliza  Chester. 

I  do  not  suppose  young  girls  who  are  just  beginning 
to  study  any  language  can  appreciate  just  how  it  is 
going  to  influence  them ;  but  I  should  be  glad  if  what  I 
have  said  might  lead  some  of  them  to  work  with  a  more 
serious  aim  than  to  chatter  about  the  weather  in  some 


58  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

foreign  city.  For  I  believe  that  every  girl  should  learn 
some  language  besides  her  own  for  the  sake  of  the  right 
mental  balance.  No  one  has  a  very  clear  idea  of  the 
structure  of  English  who  has  not  made  some  attempt  to 
understand  another  language.  —  Eliza  Chester. 

It  is  never  best  to  give  up  altogether  reading  an  author 
we  know  to  be  great,  even  if  we  cannot  understand  him. 
Keep  on  reading  a  little  at  a  time,  and  the  light  is  sure 
to  dawn  gradually.  Especially  if  a  book  contains  an 
argument,  we  must  try  to  look  at  it  as  a  whole,  before 
we  can  fully  master  details ;  but  we  need  not  do  it  all  at 
once.  Never  work  over  any  subject  after  your  brain 
begins  to  be  tired.  Turn  to  something  else  till  to-mor- 
row, and  then  the  crooked  places  will  be  made  straight.  — 
Eliza  Chester. 

Whenever  you  buy  a  book  buy  one  that  means  some- 
thing to  you,  even  if  it  is  a  novel  or  a  child's  story.  — 
Eliza  Chester. 

There  are  thousands  of  books  worth  reading,  and  no- 
body can  read  them  all.  Emerson's  essay  on  "  Books  " 
in  the  volume  "  Society  and  Solitude  "  gives  a  splendid 
list  of  the  great  books  of  the  world.  Each  reader  should 
be  guided  by  her  natural  powers  in  choosing  what  to 
read.  As  all  of  us  who  are  honest  with  ourselves  know 
what  are  our  best  gifts  and  our  worst  faults,  we  should 
choose  the  subjects  and  the  books  which  will  develop 
our  powers  and  correct  our  faults.  —  Eliza  Chester. 

Travel  is  a  great  quickener  in  education,  but  it  is  not 
the  foundation  of  it.  What  does  the  Tower  of  London 
mean  to  one  who  knows  nothing  of  English  history,  or 
Loch  Katrine  to  one  who  reads  the  "  Lady  of  the  Lake  " 
for  the  first  time  in  connection  with  the  guide-book  ?  — 
Eliza  Chester. 


EDUCATION — AN  ORNAMENT  IN  PROSPERITY.  59 

To  make  daily  a  new  estimate,  that  is  greatness.  — 
Emerson. 

No  woman  is  educated  who  is  not  equal  to  the  success- 
ful management  of  a  family.  —  G.  W.  Burnap. 

A  thoughtless,  selfish,  snappy,  fretful,  overbearing, 
and  dictatorial  young  woman  may  take  prizes  at  school, 
may  excel  at  music,  and  travel  round  the  world,  but  the 
more  she  knows,  the  less  culture  she  has.  The  common- 
est country  girl,  with  good  health,  an  open  brain,  and  a 
warm,  unselfish,  patient,  self-controlled  disposition,  is  a 
hundredfold  more  cultured  than  the  boarding-school 
graduate,  who  is  fractious  with  her  mother,  cross  with 
her  sisters,  or  knows  too  much  to  associate  with  other 
girls.  —  E.  J.  Hardy. 

Disposition  is  culture.  Health  is  the  soil,  intelligence 
the  branches,  and  disposition  the  leaves,  bads,  and  blos- 
soms —  the  robe  of  living  beauty,  fragrance,  and  sweet- 
ness with  which  a  young  woman  is  to  clothe  her  life. 
Without  heart-culture  the  finest  mental  culture  is  like  a 
tree  with  nothing  but  cold,  leafless  limbs.  —  E.  J.  Hardy. 

"  Ah,  old  fellow,"  said  a  gentleman,  meeting  another, 
"  so  you  are  married  at  last.  Allow  me  to  congratulate 
you,  for  I  hear  you  have  an  excellent  and  accomplished 
wife." 

"  I  have  indeed,"  was  the  reply ;  "  she  is  accomplished. 
Why,  sir,  she  is  perfectly  at  home  in  literature,  at  home 
in  music,  at  home  in  art,  af  home  in  science  —  in  short, 
at  home  everywhere,  except "  — 

" Except  what?" 

"  Except  at  home."  — E.  J.  Hardy. 

Every  girl  and  woman  should  determine  to  know 
something  thoroughly,  however  little,  of  the  best.     Ten 


60  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

minutes  each  day  —  five  or  six  solid  books  a  year  —  will 
enable  you  to  do  this.  There  is  no  excuse  for  reading 
trash,  when  the  standard  works  on  good  subjects  are  as 
easily  attainable.  — Hardy. 

Have  you  any  pocket  money  on  hand  ?  I  suppose 
not;  girls  rarely  do  have,  I  am  sorry  to  say.  Well, 
then,  promise  me  that  with  the  first  dollar  you  have  you 
will  buy  a  book  for  a  corner-stone  to  your  future  library. 
Give  me  your  word  to  do  this  and  to  read  each  book 
which  you  buy,  and  I  will  promise  you  that,  provided 
your  books  are  honest  and  true,  you  will  always  have 
within  reach,  even  under  your  own  roof,  the  most  royal 
company  in  all  the  world.  —  Annie  H.  Ryder. 

The  education  of  the  human  mind  commences  in  the 
cradle.  —  T.  Cog  an. 

Practical  education  implies  the  art  of  making  active 
and  useful  what  we  learn.  —  J.  W.  Barker. 

We  speak  of  educating  our  children ;  do  we  know  that 
our  children  also  educate  us  ? — Mrs.  Sigourney. 

Education  begins  the  gentleman,  but  reading,  good 
company,  and  reflection  must  finish  him. — J.  Locke. 

Effeminate  education,  which  we  call  indulgence,  de- 
stroys all  the  strength  both  of  mind  and  body. — 
Quintilian. 

What  we  do  not  call  education  is  more  precious  than 
that  which  we  call  so.  We  form  no  guess,  at  the  time 
of  receiving  a  thought,  of  its  comparative  value.  And 
education  often  wastes  its  efforts  in  attempts  to  thwart 
and  balk  this  natural  magnetism,  which  is  sure  to  select 
what  belongs  to  it.  —  Emerson. 


EDUCATION — AN  ORNAMENT  IN  PROSPERITY.  61 

I  consider  a  human  soul  without  education  like  marble 
in  the  quarry,  which  shows  none  of  its  inherent  beauties 
until  the  skill  of  the  polisher  fetches  out  the  colors, 
makes  the  surface  shine,  and  discovers  every  ornamental 
cloud,  spot,  and  vein  that  runs  through  the  body  of  it. 
Education,  after  the  same  manner,  when  it  works  upon 
a  noble  mind,  draws  out  to  view  every  latent  virtue  and 
perfection,  which  without  such  helps  are  never  able  to 
make  their  appearance.  —  Addison. 

The  use  of  learning  is  to  render  a  man  more  wise  and 
virtuous,  not  merely  to  make  him  more  learned.  Go  on 
by  this  golden  rule,  and  you  cannot  fail'to  become  every- 
thing your  generous  heart  prompts  you  to  wish  to  be, 
and  that  mine  most  affectionately  wishes  for  you.  — 
Mrs.  Henry  Sandbach. 

A  pretender  to  learning  is  one  that  would  make  others 
more  fools  than  himself;  for  though  he  knows  nothing, 
he  would  not  have  the  world  know  so  much ;  he  conceits 
nothing  in  learning  but  the  opinion,  which  he  seeks  to 
purchase  without,  though  he  might  with  less  labor  cure 
his  ignorance  than  hide  it.  —  Bishop  Earle. 

Schoolmasters  will  I  keep  within  my  house, 
Fit  to  instruct  her  youth.     To  cunning  men 
I  will  be  very  kind  ;  and  liberal 
To  mine  own  children,  in  good  bringing  up. 

Shakespeare. 

If,  in  conducting  the  education  of  a  female,  care  be 
taken  to  impress  upon  her  mind  that  the  most  proper 
sphere  for  a  woman  to  shine  in  is  the  domestic  circle ;  if 
example  and  precept  combine  to  prove  that  the  literary 
acquirements  with  which   she   is   endowed  are  not  in- 


62  HELPS  FOE   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

tended  to  form  a  means  of  display,  or  to  supersede  the 
acquisition  of  domestic  knowledge  ;  if  Christian  humility 
be  instilled  as  a  counterpoise  to  feminine  vanity,  then 
will  literature  become  a  source  of  genuine  pleasure  to 
herself,  and  enable  her  the  better  to  fulfil  the  duties  of 
daughter,  sister,  wife,  or  mother.  —  Mrs.  Riley. 

How  empty  learning,  and  how  vain  is  art, 
But  as  it  ends  the  life,  and  guides  the  heart. 

Young. 

The  point  of  liberal  education  is  not  learning,  but  the 
capacity  and  desire  to  learn ;  not  knowledge,  but  power. 
—  C.  W.  Eliot. 

The  true  purpose  of  education  is  to  cherish  and  unfold 
the  seed  of  immortality  already  sown  within  us.  —  Mrs. 
Jameson. 

We  should  ask,  not  who  is  the  most  learned,  but  who 
is  the  best  learned. — Lady  M.  W.  Montagu. 

Education  is  a  capital  to  the  poor  man,  and  an  interest 
to  the  rich  man.  —  Horace  Mann. 

Education  keeps  the  key  of  life  ;  and  a  liberal  educa- 
tion insures  the  first  conditions  of  freedom  —  namely, 
adequate  knowledge  and  accustomed  thought.  —  Julia 
Ward  Howe. 

It  is  only  the  ignorant  who  despise  education. 

Publius  Syrus. 

Travel,  in  the  younger  sort,  is  a  part  of  education  ;  in 
the  elder,  a  part  of  experience.  He  that  travelleth  into 
a  country  before  he  hath  some  entrance  into  the  language, 
goeth  to  school,  and  not  to  travel.  —  Bacon. 


EDUCATION  —  AN  ORNAMENT  IN  PROSPERITY.  63 

I  shall  detain  you  no  longer  in  the  demonstration  of 
what  we  should  not  do,  but  straight  conduct  ye  to  a  hill- 
side, where  I  will  point  ye  out  the  right  path  of  a  virtu- 
ous and  noble  education;  laborious  indeed  at  the  first 
ascent,  but  else  so  smooth,  so  green,  so  full  of  goodly 
prospect  and  melodious  sounds  on  every  side  that  the 
harp  of  Orpheus  was  not  more  charming.  —  Milton. 

Some  for  renown  on  scraps  of  learning  dote, 
And  think  they  grow  immortal  as  they  quote. 

Young. 

Find  time  still  to  be  learning  somewhat  good,  and  give 
up  being  desultory.  —  Marcus  Aurelius. 

It  is  a  trite  saying  that  great  men  have  had  great 
mothers.  Most  men  who  have  achieved  success  have 
had  some  woman  —  mother,  aunt,  sister,  or  some  one 
dearer  —  to  spur  them  onward  and  upward.  How  many 
men  have  received  their  inspiration  from  women  teachers 
the  world  has  never  known,  never  will  know.  —  Prof. 
Thomas  Hunter. 

An  establishment  where  the  extreme  of  everything  is 
taught,  and  much  nonsense  is  learned  in  the  latest  style. 
—  Constance  Fenimore  Woolson's  description  of  a  fashion- 
able school. 

It  is  gradually  coming  to  be  recognized  that,  even  with 
boys,  the  time  hitherto  given  up  for  teaching  Latin  and 
Greek  had  far  better,  except  in  the  cases  of  those  in- 
tended to  become  thorough  students  of  those  dead  lan- 
guages, have  been  devoted  to  the  efficient  teaching  of 
French,  German,  or  other  living  language.  Whichever 
of  the  latter  you  may  take  up,  endeavor  to  learn  it  prac- 


64  HELPS   FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

tically  for  conversation,  and  the  enjoyment  of  its  country's 
literature.  Make  yourself  familiar  with  the  language 
before  attempting  to  master  its  grammar. — Lady  Bel- 
lairs. 

If  you  are  devoting  your  odd  hours  to  literature  it  is 
unnecessary  to  make  pretensions  to  a  knowledge  of  chem- 
istry. Do  not  be  afraid  to  say,  "  I  do  not  know."  We 
all  expect  too  much  learning  from  one  another,  especially 
elders  from  younger  people.  If  John  can  tell  his  father 
a  great  deal  about  surveying,  and  Mary  cannot,  no 
matter ;  she  can  tell  them  both  a  good  deal  about  phys- 
iology. —  Annie  H  Ryder. 

There  is  as  much  to  be  said  on  how  to  study  as  on 
what  to  study,  yet  I  believe  the  question  may  be  briefly 
answered.  Study  so  that  the  ideas  of  authors  may  be- 
come your  own,  though  remoulded  into  such  forms  as 
your  own  character,  reason,  experience,  and  highest 
thoughts  allow.  —  Annie  H.  Ryder. 

Just  what  should  be  the  ideal  education  for  women  is, 
and  must  be,  an  unsettled  question  for  some  time  to 
come.  For  it  is  still  undetermined  how  distinctly  the 
area  of  woman's  needs  and  activities  should  be  bounded 
by  sex  limitations,  and  how  largely  it  may  be  identified 
with  the  needs  and  activities  of  men.  —  Helen  Watterson 
Moody. 

For  thirty  years  now  we  have  been  exploiting  a  higher 
education  for  women,  based  on  what  has  been  called  the 
rational  principle,  that  there  is  no  sex  in  mind  ;  and  yet, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  idea  of  sex  has  not  for  an  hour 
been  lost  sight  of.  The  education  of  women  has  still 
proceeded  along  the  lines  of  sex  —  the  other  sex.  — 
Helen  Watterson  Moody. 


EDUCATION  —  AN  ORNAMENT  IN  PROSPERITY.  65 

When  in  the  course  of  conversation  or  reading  you 
come  across  something  you  do  not  fully  comprehend  — 
the  meaning  of  a  word,  the  whereabouts  of  a  place,  or  a 
historical  reference  —  make  a  mental  note  of  it,  and  take 
the  earliest  opportunity  of  enlightening  yourself  on  the 
subject,  by  inquiry  of  a  friend  or  search  in  some  work 
of  reference.  Your  knowledge  of  your  language,  of  geog- 
raphy or  history,  and  of  general  subjects,  will  be  largely 
increased  by  this  practice.  —  Lady  Bellairs  in  "  Gossips 
with  Girls  and  Maidens." 

Often  the  cockloft  is  empty  in  those  whom  Nature 
hath  built  many  stories  high.  —  Fuller. 

Such  as  take  lodgings  in  a  head 
That  ?s  to  be  let  unfurnished. 

Butler. 

No  man  is  the  wiser  for  his  learning.  —  Selden. 

You  write  with  ease  to  show  your  breeding, 
But  easy  writing  's  curst  hard  reading. 

Sheridan. 

Let  ignorance  talk  as  it  will,  learning  has  its  value.  — 
La  Fontaine. 

No  path  of  flowers  leads  to  glory.  —  La  Fontaine. 

Their  heads  are  sometimes  so  little  that  there  is  no 
room  for  wit ;  sometimes  so  long  that  there  is  no  wit  for 
so  much  room.  —  "  Of  Natural  Fools,"  by  Thomas  Fuller. 

Learning  hath  gained  most  by  those  books  by  which 
the  printers  have  lost.  —  Fuller. 


66  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Underneath  this  sable  hearse 
Lies  the  subject  of  all  verse,  — 
Sidney's  sister,  Pembroke's  mother. 
Death,  ere  thou  hast  slain  another 
Learn'd  and  fair  and  good  as  she, 
Time  shall  throw  a  dart  at  thee. 
Ben  Jonson,  "  Epitaph  on  the  Countess  of  Pembroke." 

They  never  taste  who  always  drink ; 
They  always  talk  who  never  think. 

Matthew  Prior. 


DRESS    AND    DEMEANOR,  67 


CHAPTER   V. 

DRESS  AND  DEMEANOR  IN  BUSINESS  AND  PROFESSIONAL 
LIFE. 

"  Study  to  be  quiet."  —  /.  Thessalonians,  iv.  11. 

If  the  apostle  Paul  had  written  those  words  expressly 
for  girls  of  the  twentieth  century  with  their  way  to  make 
in  the  world,  he  could  not  have  given  better  advice. 
"  And  that  ye  study  to  be  quiet,  and  to  do  your  own 
business,  and  to  work  with  your  own  hands,  as  we  com- 
manded you."  Quiet  in  dress,  quiet  in  demeanor,  quiet  in 
everything.  And  not  merely  to  be  quiet,  but  to  study  to 
be  quiet,  to  make  a  strenuous  effort  to  avoid  everything 
loud,  everything  boisterous,  everything  to  attract  atten- 
tion. Anything  that  tends  to  attract  attention  to  herself 
is  a  thing  for  a  girl  to  avoid. 

"  She  that  was  ever  fair  and  never  proud,  had  tongue 
at  will  and  yet  was  never  loud,"  Shakespeare  says.  Loud 
is  a  good  old  English  word,  and  we  all  know  just  what 
it  means,  as  applied  to  either  man  or  woman.  It  is  ex- 
actly the  opposite  of  quiet.  The  man  who  wears  much 
showy  jewelry,  big-checked  trousers,  and  a  fancy  vest  is 
loud  in  his  dress  and  likely  to  be  loud  in  manner  also. 
The  girl  who  dresses  or  acts  in  such  a  way  as  to  attract 
unusual  attention  to  herself  is  likewise  loud,  and  that 
is  a  disadvantage. 

Loudness,  whether  in  dress  or  in  manner,  is  always  a 
sign  of  inexperience.  The  young  girl  who  is  enjoying 
her  first  experience  of  having  her  own  money  to  spend 
in  her  own  way  is  far  more  likely  to  make  a  show  of 


68  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

herself  in  the  office  or  the  work-room  than  the  girl  who 
has  been  at  work  long  enough  to  know  something  of  the 
ways  of  the  world.  Some  girls  know  from  the  start, 
some  learn  in  a  few  months,  and  others  take  years  to 
learn,  that  it  is  not  appearance  but  ability  upon  which 
they  must  depend  for  success.  You  will  find  invariably 
that  the  loud  woman  is  loud  because  she  does  not  know 
any  better. 

A  short  time  ago  I  was  in  the  home  of  a  literary  friend 
in  New  York  when  a  young  lady  called  to  make  some 
inquiries  about  a  person  whom  she  was  about  to  "  inter- 
view." She  was  one  of  the  most  gorgeous  young  women 
I  had  ever  seen,  her  dress  a  mass  of  bows  and  furbelows, 
her  skirt  sweeping  the  floor,  her  "waist "  to  be  compared 
with  nothing  but  Joseph's  coat  of  many  colors.  After 
she  had  gone  I  ventured  to  make  an  inquiry  about  her, 
for  she  was  evidently  on  some  newspaper  service,  though 
strikingly  different  in  appearance  and  manner  from  the 
plainly-clad  attend-strictly-to-business  newspaper  women 
I  had  met. 

"  She  is  an  Alabama  girl  who  has  just  come  to  New 
York  to  struggle  for  a  footing  in  newspaper  work,"  my 
friend's  wife  explained.  "  I  don't  suppose  she  has 
another  waist,  poor  thing,  or  she  would  n't  wear  that  one 
in  the  street." 

That  explained  one  case  of  overdressing.  It  was 
simply  a  case  of  inexperience.  In  six  months  that  young 
woman,  if  she  succeeds,  will  have  learned  that  she  can- 
not dress  too  plainly  for  her  work. 

It  is  almost  an  invariable  rule  that  loud  dressing  be- 
tokens a  beginner  of  small  salary  and  smaller  experience. 
Several  years  ago  I  was  revising  the  proofs  of  a  work  of 
reference  in  a  large  establishment  in  New  York,  where 
forty  or  fifty  girl  stenographers  and  typewriters  were 
employed,  and  the  rooms  in  which  they  sat  resembled  so 


DRESS  AND  DEMEANOR.  69 

many  beds  of  many-colored  violets.  They  were  fairly 
dazzling  in  their  finery.  It  was  a  strictly  commercial 
establishment,  in  which  the  publishing  of  a  book  was 
unusual,  and  everything  connected  with  it  was  out  of  the 
.typewriters'  common  routine.  When  it  came  to  "  taking  " 
the  introduction  to  a  new  chapter,  or,  perhaps,  a  new 
chapter  entire,  they  were  not  equal  to  it.  One  girl  after 
another  tried  it  and  failed. 

"  It 's  no  use,"  one  of  the  partners  said  to  me  after  a 
day  or  two.  "  These  girls  are  not  expert  enough  to  do 
that  kind  of  work.  They  are  hardly  more  than  begin- 
ners, on  small  salaries.  To  take  an  ordinary  business 
letter,  '  Yours  of  the  14th  inst.  rec'd,  and  contents 
noted/  they  answer  our  purpose  very  well ;  but  outside 
of  their  regular  routine  they  are  surprisingly  ignorant. 
I  have  noticed  that  they  usually  have  a  vocabulary  of 
from  three  hundred  to  four  hundred  words.  Those  words 
they  all  understand,  and  can  generally  spell,  but  no  more. 
We  will  have  an  expert  stenographer  for  you  to-morrow." 

They  had,  and  the  expert  serves  as  well  as  the  younger 
girls  to  illustrate  the  point  I  am  trying  to  bring  out. 
She  was  by  many  degrees  the  plainest  young  woman  in 
the  place,  as  to  dress,  and  she  did  not  enter  or  leave  a 
room  with  that  queenly  air  that  is  born  and  bred  mainly 
in  cheap  novels.  But  she  understood  her  business  thor- 
oughly, and  received  at  the  end  of  the  week  more  than 
three  times  as  much  pay  as  any  of  the  more  gaudy  girls. 
That  is,  her  salary  was  $25  a  week,  and  the  other  girls 
received  $8.  It  always  seems  to  me  that  her  plain  dress 
meant  $25  a  week  and  a  bank  account,  and  that  a  shining 
costume  of  silk  or  satin  means  about  $8  a  week. 

In  another  large  concern  that  I  am  familiar  with  and 
visit  sometimes  there  are  a  number  of  girl  typewriters 
of  distinguished  mien  and  regal  apparel,  but  the  one 
who  does  all  the  difficult  work  and  receives  as  much  pay 


70  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

as  any  three  or  four  of  the  others  is  extremely  plain  in 
her  dress.  Her  dress  and  demeanor  show  in  a  moment 
that  she  is  a  young  woman  of  much  experience  and  good 
salary.  A  dollar  or  a  dollar  and  a  quarter  a  day  appar- 
ently demands  much  brighter  colors  and  more  jewelry 
than  $20  or  $25  a  week. 

No  reasonable  person  would  expect  an  $8  a  week  girl 
to  be  able  to  do  the  work  of  a  girl  worth  $25  a  week. 
It  has  a  very  commercial  sound  to  classify  girls  thus  by 
their  monetary  value,  but  that  is  the  way  they  are  judged 
in  a  business  office,  just  as  the  boys  and  young  men  are 
judged,  —  by  the  value  of  the  services  they  can  render, 
not  by  their  stylish  appearance.  All  the  satins  and 
cheap  jewelry  you  can  put  on  will  not  increase  your  sal- 
ary fifty  cents  a  week.  And  the  dressy  young  girls,  just 
budding  into  self-supporting  women,  are  not  to  be  blamed 
too  harshly  for  going  to  the  office  to  work  in  a  cheap 
imitation  of  one  of  Mrs.  Astor's  ball  costumes.  Experi- 
ence will  teach  them  better  presently.  They  have  not  in 
all  cases  the  advantage  that  you  have  in  a  mother  to  go 
to  for  advice. 

There  is  the  signboard  pointing  to  the  safe  road.  Go 
to  your  mother.  Whenever  you  are  in  doubt  about  dress, 
or  demeanor,  or  anything  else,  go  to  her,  and  not  only 
ask  her  advice,  but  follow  it.  Do  not  deceive  yourself 
with  the  notion  that  though  she  is  the  dearest  old 
mother,  she  is  old-fashioned.  There  is  no  such  thing  as 
old  or  new  fashion  in  the  way  that  a  young  girl  should 
dress  herself,  or  carry  herself.  The  cut  of  the  gown,  and 
the  sports  and  employments  permitted  by  custom,  change, 
but  the  modest  bearing  that  is  a  girl's  chief  charm  is  for- 
ever the  same,  whether  her  wheel  be  one  for  spinning 
flax  or  one  with  pneumatic  tires,  —  not  the  affected 
modesty  that  casts  down  the  eyes  when  a  young  man 
speaks  to  her,  but  the  real  modesty  that  comes  from 
the  inside. 


DRESS  AND  DEMEANOR.  71 

Then  there  is  the  other  side  of  the  question  —  the 
danger  of  being  too  careless  in  dress.  There  is  less 
danger  of  that,  for  it  is  the  natural  desire  of  nearly  every 
young  girl  to  look  as  well  as  she  can.  T  speak  particularly 
of  young  girls,  because  they  are  the  ones  mainly  who  need 
such  hints.  By  the  time  you  have  spent  two  or  three 
years  in  supporting  yourself  you  will  need  very  little 
advice  about  dress  or  demeanor.  The  world  will  have 
rubbed  off  the  sharp  corners,  and  put  many,  many  new 
ideas  into  your  head,  and,  to  be  quite  honest  with  you, 
you  will  know  much  more  then  than  you  know  now.  I  do 
not  undervalue  the  knowledge  that  you. have  worked  for 
and  gained  in  school  or  college,  but  the  world  is  so  much 
greater  a  school  than  even  Vassar  or  Wellesley. 

"  The  natural  desire  of  a  young  girl  to  look  as  well  as 
she  can  "  I  have  just  spoken  of.  It  is  not  only  a  natu- 
ral, but  a  perfectly  proper  desire.  Not  one  of  us,  man 
or  woman,  cares  to  look  any  worse  than  necessary.  I 
will  tell  you  confidentially  that  vanity  is  as  epidemic 
among  young  men  as  among  young  women.  It  does 
not  show  as  plainly  in 'men's  dress,  because  they  are 
more  restricted  by  custom  in  color  and  costume.  Admit- 
ting that  we  all  have  this  desire  to  look  as  well  as  we 
can,  the  question  is,  how  we  can  look  our  best.  Not 
that  we  need  make  this  the  great  end  and  aim  in  life,  but 
it  is  a  subject  worthy  of  consideration. 

"  Costly  thy  habit  as  thy  purse  can  buy,  but  not  ex- 
press'd  in  fancy ;  rich,  not  gaudy ;  for  the  apparel  oft 
proclaims  the  man." 

Costly  within  reason,  but  not  to  the  extent  of  keeping 
yourself  poor  to  buy  rich  raiment.  Decidedly  not  ex- 
pressed in  fancy.  No  train  to  sweep  the  floor  and  no 
bicycle  skirt  in  business  hours  to  display  the  color  of 
your  shoe-tops.  Rich,  not  gaudy.  As  good  material  as 
you  can  afford,  but  plainly  made.     Does  not  that  quota- 


72  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

tion  from  Shakespeare  answer  the  question?  Do  we  not 
look  our  best  when  dressed  in  a  style  suitable  to  the 
business  in  hand?  If  you  were  to  go  to  a  ball  in  your 
working  clothes  you  would  look  no  more  out  of  place  than 
if  you  went  to  your  work  in  a  ball  dress.  The  best- 
dressed  girl  is  she  whose  costume  is  fitted  to  the  occasion, 
and  the  costume  most  fitting  for  work  or  business  is  one 
that  attracts  no  attention  whatever,  that  seems  to  be 
there  naturally,  merely  a  necessary  covering  for  the  body. 
The  neatly-kept  hair  and  hands  and  shoes  are  more 
important  to  a  girl  than  the  texture  of  her  clothes.  At- 
tention to  these  things  is  necessary,  for  an  employer 
does  not  want  a  sloven  oy  his  side  in  the  office  any  more 
than  he  cares  to  dictate  his  letters  to  a  flashy  imitation 
of  the  Empress  Eugenie.  And  as  long  as  you  are  at 
work  you  will  have  an  employer  to  please  —  a  master, 
in  fact,  though  we  Americans  try  to  hide  the  truth  under 
smoother  terms.  At  first  it  will  be  only  the  man  in  the 
office,  and  that  should  be  easy  enough  if  you  are  capable 
and  "  study  to  be  quiet."  But  when  success  comes,  and 
the  office  is  your  own  office,  and  the  great  public  is  your 
master,  you  will  find  him  much  harder  to  please  than  the 
other.  He  is  a  just  master,  reasonable  and  kind  when 
you  serve  him  well ;  but  even  when  you  reach  the  top  of 
your  business  or  profession  he  will  stand  very  little  non- 
sense in  your  dress  or  demeanor.  You  must  conform 
to  the  rules  he  lays  down  for  you  or  take  the  conse- 
quences ;  and  you  will  find  no  safer,  surer  road  to  his  favor 
than  in  the  four  words  into  which  St.  Paul  has  com- 
pressed a  volume  of  advice,  "  Study  to  be  quiet." 

44  This  above  all :  to  thine  own  self  be  true, 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man." 

Shakespeare. 


O'ERSTEP  NOT  THE  MODESTY  OF  NATURE.     73 


CHAPTER  VI. 
o'erstep  not  the  modesty  of  nature. 

The  person  whose  clothes  are  extremely  fine  I  am  too 
apt  to  consider  as  not  being  possessed  of  any  superiority 
of  fortune,  but  resembling  those  Indians  who  are  found 
to  wear  all  the  gold  they  have  in  the  world  in  a  bob  at 
the  nose.  —  Oliver  Goldsmith. 

Dress  drains  our  cellar  dry, 
•     And  keeps  our  larder  lean. 

Cowper. 

Beauty  gains  little,  and  homeliness  and  deformity  lose 
much,  by  gaudy  attire.  Lysander  knew  this  was  in  part 
true,  and  refused  the  rich  garments  that  the  tyrant 
Dionysius  proffered  to  his  daughters,  saying  that  they 
were  fit  only  to  make  unhappy  faces  more  remarkable. — 
Zimmerman. 

Young  Man :  "  I  have  come  to  ask  you  for  the  hand  of 
your  daughter,  doctor. " 

Fashionable  Physician :  "  You  have  ?  " 

Young  Man :  "  Yes,  doctor.  I  have  enough  of  this 
world's  goods  to  support  her  in  comfort,  even  in  luxury." 

Physician :  "  Yes,  I  am  aware  of  that ;  but  will  you 
treat  her  kindly  ?  Can  I  depend  upon  your  making  her 
a  good  husband  ?  " 

Young  Man :  "  Doctor,  I  swear  "  — 

Physician :  "  Oh,  never  mind  swearing.  Your  inten- 
tions are  all  right,  no  doubt,  but   I  must  be  sure  you 


74  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS, 

won't  worry  the  life  out  of  her.  Take  off  your  coat,  and 
let  me  sound  you  to  see  what  condition  your  liver  is 
in  ! "  —  Hardy. 

Dress  has  a  moral  effect  upon  the  conduct  of  man 
kind.  Let  any  gentleman  find  himself  with  dirty  boots, 
old  surtout,  soiled  neckcloth,  and  a  general  negligence 
of  dress,  he  will,  in  all  probability,  find  a  correspond- 
ing disposition  by  negligence  of  address.  —  Sir  Jonah 
Harrington. 

As  the  index  tells  us  the  contents  of  stories,  and  directs 
to  the  particular  chapter,  even  so  does  the  outward  habit 
and  superficial  order  of  garments  (in  man  or  woman) 
give  us  a  taste  of  the  spirit,  and  demonstratively  point 
(as  it  were  a  manual  note  from  the  margin)  all  the  in- 
ternal quality  of  the  soul ;  and  there  cannot  be  a  more 
evident,  palpable,  gross  manifestation  of  poor,  degener- 
ate, dunghilly  blood  and  breeding  than  a  rude,  unpol- 
ished, disordered,  and  slovenly  outside.  —  Massinger. 

"But  that's  servants'  work!"  Of  course  it  is. 
What  business  have  you  to  hope  to  be  better  than  a 
servant  of  servants  ?  "  God  made  you  a  lady  ?  "  Yes, 
he  has  put  you,  that  is  to  say,  in  a  position  in  which  you 
may  learn  to  speak  your  own  language  beautifully ;  to 
be  accurately  acquainted  with  the  elements  of  other 
languages ;  to  behave  with  grace,  tact,  and  sympathy  to 
all  around  you;  to  know  the  history  of  your  country, 
the  commands  of  its  religion,  and  the  duties  of  its  race. 
If  you  obey  His  will  in  learning  these  things  you  will 
obtain  the  power  of  becoming  a  true  "  lady ; "  and  you 
will  become  one  if  while  you  learn  these  things  you  set 
yourself,  with  all  the  strength  of  your  youth  and  woman- 
hood, to  serve  His  servants,  until  the  day  come  when 


O'ERSTEP  NOT   THE  MODESTY  OF  NATURE.     75 

He  calls  you  to  say,  "  Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant, enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord."  —  Buskin. 

Loveliness 
Needs  not  the  foreign  aid  of  ornament, 
But  is,  when  unadorned,  adorned  the  most. 

Thomson. 

The  manner  of  a  vulgar  man  has  freedom  without 
ease,  and  the  manner  of  a  gentleman  has  ease  without 
freedom.  —  Chesterfield. 

You  will,  I  believe,  in  general,  ingratiate  yourself  with 
others  still  less  by  paying  them  too  much  court  than  too 
little.  —  Greville. 

Virtue  itself  offends,  when  coupled  with  forbidding 
manners.  —  Bishop  Middleton. 

Good  manners  is  the  art  of  making  those  people  easy 
with  whom  we  converse.  —  Swift. 

Unbecoming  forwardness  often  proceeds  more  from 
ignorance  than  impudence.  —  Greville. 

Manners  are  of  more  importance  than  laws.  Upon 
them,  in  a  great  measure,  the  laws  depend.  The  law 
touches  us  but  here  and  there,  now  and  then.  Manners 
are  what  vex  or  soothe,  corrupt  or  purify,  exalt  or  debase, 
barbarize  or  refine  us,  by  a  constant,  steady,  uniform, 
insensible  operation,  like  that  of  the  air  we  breathe  in. 
They  give  their  whole  form  and  color  to  our  lives.  Ac- 
cording to  their  quality,  they  aid  morals,  they  supply 
them,  or  they  totally  destroy  them.  —  Burke. 


76  HELPS  FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Men  naturally  are  shy  of  a  woman  who  seems  unneces- 
sarily to  make  a  point  of  exhibiting  her  independent 
feeling  by  seeking  opportunities  for  disagreeing  with  or 
correcting  those  around  her.  It  is  this  which  has  given 
rise  to  the  impression  that  men  dislike  a  highly  educated 
woman.  It  is  not,  however,  higher  education  that  is 
really  in  fault,  but  the  ill-trained,  faulty  manners  of  the 
woman.  Some  girls,  on  the  other  hand,  seem  bent  on 
encouraging  a  belief  in  the  shallowness  of  their  minds, 
by  unreflectingly  agreeing  with  every  opinion  uttered, 
however  contradictory.  It  is  not  by  such  palpable  arti- 
fice as  this  that  they  will  succeed  in  rendering  them- 
selves truly  agreeable.  —  Lady  Bellairs. 

I  firmly  believe  that  my  persistence  in  dressing  well, 
even  when  I  was  desperately  poor,  has  been  worth  a 
good  many  dollars  a  year  to  me.  —  A  successful  business 
woman. 

The  number  of  women  who  are  complete  business  suc- 
cesses increases  rapidly.  In  the  city  of  New  York,  for 
instance,  as  in  all  other  business  centres,  there  are  scores 
of  trained  and  capable  business  women,  whose  manner 
of  meeting  whomsoever  they  are  called  upon  to  meet  is 
simply  beyond  criticism.  —  William  0.  Stoddard. 

We  eat  to  please  ourselves,  but  dress  to  please  others. 
—  Franklin. 

The  plainer  the  dress,  with  greater  lustre  does  beauty 
appear.  —  Halifax. 

A  rich  dress  is  not  worth  a  straw  to  one  who  has  a 
poor  mind.  — Az-Zubaidi. 


O'ERSTEP  NOT  THE  MODESTY  OF  NATURE.     77 

The  perfection  of  dress  is  in  the  union  of  three 
requisites  —  in  its  being  comfortable,  cheap,  and  taste- 
ful. —  Bovee. 

A  vulgar  man  is  captious  and  jealous,  eager  and 
impetuous  about  trifles.  He  suspects  himself  to  be 
slighted,  thinks  everything  that  is  said  meant  at  him ; 
if  the  company  happens  to  laugh  he  is  persuaded  they 
laugh  at  him ;  he  grows  angry  and  testy,  says  something 
very  impertinent,  and  draws  himself  into  a  scrape,  by 
showing  what  he  calls  a  proper  spirit,  and  asserting  him- 
self. —  Chesterfield. 

What  is  becoming  is  honorable,  and  what  is  honor- 
able is  becoming.  —  Tully. 

Levity  of  behavior  is  the  bane  of  all  that  is  good  and 
virtuous.  —  Seneca. 

The  modest  virgin,  the  prudent  wife,  or  the  careful 
matron  are  much  more  serviceable  in  life  than  petti- 
coated  philosophers,  blustering  heroines,  or  virago 
queens.  She  who  makes  her  husband  and  her  children 
happy,  who  reclaims  the  one  from  vice  and  trains  up  the 
other  to  virtue,  is  a  much  greater  character  than  ladies 
described  in  romance,  whose  sole  occupation  is  to  murder 
mankind  with  shafts  from  the  quiver  of  their  eyes.  — 
Goldsmith. 

If  we  wish  to  know  the  political  and  moral  condition 
of  a  state,  we  must  ask  what  rank  women  hold  in  it. 
Their  influence  embraces  the  whole  of  life.  A  man  takes 
counsel  with  his  wife;  he  obeys  his  mother;  he  obeys 
her  long  after  she  has  ceased  to  live,  and  the  ideas 
which  he  has  received  from  her  become  principles 
stronger  even  than  his  passions.  —  Aime  Martin. 


78  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS  GIBLS. 

The  man  who  bears  an  honorable  mind 
Will  scorn  to  treat  a  woman  lawlessly. 

Shakespeare. 

I  speculate  much  on  the  existence  of  unmarried  and 
never-to-be-married  women  nowadays ;  and  I  have  already 
got  to  the  point  of  considering  that  there  is  no  more 
respectable  character  on  this  earth  than  an  unmarried 
woman  who  makes  her  own  way  through  life  quietly, 
perseveringly,  without  support  of  husband  or  brother, 
and  who  retains  in  her  possession  a  well-regulated  mind, 
a  disposition  to  enjoy  simple  pleasures  and  fortitude  to 
support  inevitable  pains,  sympathy  with  the  sufferings 
of  others,  and  willingness  to  relieve  want  as  far  as  her 
means  extend.  —  Charlotte  Bronte. 

Women,  so  amiable  in  themselves,  are  never  so  amia- 
ble as  when  they  are  useful ;  and  as  for  beauty,  though 
men  may  fall  in  love  with  girls  at  play,  there  is  nothing 
to  make  them  stand  to  their  love  like  seeing  them  at 
work. —  Cobbett. 

What 's  a  fine  person,  or  a  beauteous  face, 
Unless  deportment  gives  them  decent  grace  ? 
Bless'd  with  all  other  requisites  to  please, 
Some  want  the  striking  elegance  of  ease  ; 
The  curious  eye  their  awkward  movement  tires ; 
They  seem  like  puppets  led  about  by  wires. 

Churchill. 

Fashions  that  are  now  call'd  new 
Have  been  worn  by  more  than  you : 
Elder  times  have  worn  the  same, 
Though  the  new  ones  got  the  name. 

Middleton. 


O'ERSTEP  NOT   THE  MODESTY  OF  NATURE.     79 

A  fop  of  fashion  is  the  mercer's  friend, 
The  tailor's  fool,  and  his  own  foe. 

Lava+er. 

Be  neither  too  early  in  the  fashion,  nor  too  long  out  of 
it,  nor  at  any  time  in  the  extremes  of  it.  —  Lavater. 

Fastidiousness  is  the  envelope  of  indelicacy.  —  Hali- 
burton. 

He  who  gives  himself  airs  of  importance  exhibits  the 
credentials  of  impotence.  —  Lavater. 

Beware  of  little  expenses  :  a  small  leak  will  sink  a 
great  ship.  —  Franklin. 

The  wise  prove  and  the  foolish  confess,  by  their  con- 
duct, that  a  life  of  employment  is  the  only  life  worth 
leading.  —  Paley. 

A  miser  grows  rich  by  seeming  poor ;  an  extravagant 
man  grows  poor  by  seeming  rich.  —  Shenstone. 

Nature  has  sometimes  made  a  fool ;  but  a  coxcomb  is 
always  of  a  man's  own  making.  —  Addison. 

Dress  yourself  fine  where  others  are  fine,  and  plain 
where  others  are  plain ;  but  take  care  that  your  clothes 
are  well  made  and  fit  you,  for  otherwise  they  will  give 
you  a  very  awkward  air.  —  Chesterfield. 

As  long  as  there  are  cold  and  nakedness  in  the  land 
around  you,  so  long  can  there  be  no  question  at  all  but 
that  splendor  of  dress  is  a  crime.  In  due  time,  when  we 
have  nothing  better  to  set  people  to  work  at,  it  may  be 


80  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

right  to  let  them  make  lace  and  cut  jewels ;  but  as  long 
as  there  are  any  who  have  no  blankets  for  their  beds, 
and  no  rags  for  their  bodies,  so  long  it  is  blanket-making 
and  tailoring  we  must  set  people  to  work  at,  not  lace.  — 
Ruskin. 

Look  on  this  globe  of  earth,  and  you  will  find  it  to  be 
a  very  complete  and  fashionable  dress.  What  is  that 
which  some  call  land,  but  a  fine  coat  faced  with  green  ? 
Or  the  sea  but  a  waistcoat  of  watertabby  ?  Proceed  to 
the  particular  works  of  the  creation,  you  will  find  how 
curious  journeyman  nature  has  been  to  trim  up  the  vege- 
table beaux.  Observe  how  sparkish  a  peruke  adorns  the 
head  of  a  beech,  and  what  a  fine  doublet  of  white  satin 
is  worn  by  the  birch.  To  conclude  from  all,  what  is  man 
himself  but  a  micro-coat,  or  rather  a  complete  suit  of 
clothes  with  all  its  trimmings.  —  Swift. 

Learn  good  humor,  never  to  oppose  without  just 
reason ;  abate  some  degree  of  pride  and  moroseness.  — 
Dr.  Watts. 

To  act  with  common  sense,  according  to  the  moment, 
is  the  best  wisdom  I  know ;  and  the  best  philosophy,  to 
do  one's  duties,  take  the  world  as  it  comes,  submit 
respectfully  to  one's  lot,  bless  the  goodness  that  has 
given  us  so  much  happiness  with  it,  whatever  it  is,  and 
despise  affectation. —  Horace  Walpole. 

The  maxim  that  "  Honesty  is  the  best  policy "  is  one 
which,  perhaps,  no  one  is  ever  habitually  guided  by  in 
practice.  An  honest  man  is  always  before  it,  and  a 
knave  is  generally  behind  it.  —  Whately. 

A  thousand  evils  do  afflict  that  man  which  hath  to 
himself  an  idle  and  unprofitable  carcass.  —  Sallust. 


O'ERSTEP  NOT  THE  MODESTY  OF  NATURE.     81 

At  the  workingman's  house,  hunger  looks  in  but  dares 
not  enter  ;  nor  will  the  bailiff  or  the  constable  enter  ;  for 
industry  pays  debts,  but  despair  increaseth  them. — 
Franklin. 

The  great  duty  of  life  is  not  to  give  pain;  and  the 
most  acute  reasoner  cannot  find  an  excuse  for  one  who 
voluntarily  wounds  the  heart  of  a  fellow-creature.  Even 
for  their  own  sakes  people  should  show  kindness  and 
regard  to  their  dependents.  They  are  often  better  served 
in  trifles,  in  proportion  as  they  are  rather  feared  than 
loved;  but  how  small  is  this  gain  compared  with  the 
loss  sustained  in  all  the  weightier  affairs  of  life !  Then 
the  faithful  servant  shows  himself  at  once  as  a  friend, 
while  one  who  serves  from  fear  shows  himself  an  enemy. 
—  Frederika  Bremer. 

There  will  come  a  time  when  three  words  uttered  with 
charity  and  meekness  shall  receive  a  far  more  blessed 
reward  than  three  thousand  volumes  written  with  dis- 
dainful sharpness  of  wit.  —  Hooker. 

To  live  long  it  is  necessary  to  live  slowly.  —  Cicero. 

At  twenty  years  of  age  the  will  reigns ;  at  thirty,  the 
wit ;  and  at  forty,  the  judgment.  —  Gratian. 

We  are  ruined,  not  by  what  we  really  want,  but  by 
what  we  think  we  do;  therefore  never  go  abroad  in 
search  of  your  wants.  If  they  be  real  wants  they  will 
come  home  in  search  of  you ;  for  he  that  buys  what  he 
does  not  want  will  soon  want  what  he  cannot  buy.  — 
Cotton. 

If  a  woman  works  and  is  sickly  every  one  tries  to 
make  out  that  she  would  not  have  been  sickly  if  she  had 


82  HELPS   FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

sat  idle,  which  by  no  means  follows.  It  will  be  a  good 
day  for  the  world  when  there  are  no  more  sickly  women ; 
but  I  think  that  we  shall  have  to  cease  lamenting  over 
the  work  that  must  be  done,  in  order  to  devote  our  whole 
strength  to  the  solution  of  the  difficulties  that  cluster 
' round  girls'  heritage  and  girls'  education.  —  Edith  A. 
Barnett. 

Oddities  and  singularities  of  behavior  may  attend 
genius ;  when  they  do,  they  are  its  misfortunes  and  its 
blemishes.  The  man  of  true  genius  will  be  ashamed  of 
them  ;  at  least  he  will  never  affect  to  distinguish  himself 
by  whimsical  peculiarities.  —  Sir  W.  Temple. 

A  man  who  cannot  mind  his  own  business  is  not  to  be 
trusted  with  the  king's.  —  Saville. 

Never  shrink  from  doing  anything  which  your  busi- 
ness calls  you  to  do.  The  man  who  is  above  his  business 
may  one  day  find  his  business  above  him.  —  Drew. 

Girls,  why  do  so  many  of  you  indulge  in  so  much 
smaller  talk  with  men  than  with  women  ?  Because  it  is 
expected  of  you  ?  Only  by  a  few,  and  they  make  them- 
selves very  absurd  by  always  trying  to  say  nonsensical 
things  to  you.  Men  of  this  sort  appear  to  have  an  im- 
pression that  you  are  still  children  amused  with  a  Jack- 
in-the-box  which  springs  up  in  a  very  conceited  hobgoblin 
way.  Everybody  likes  a  joke,  and  at  times  feels  a  child- 
like pleasure  in  speaking  nonsense;  but,  believe  me, 
sense  is  much  more  attractive  in  conversation.  —  Annie 
H.  Ryder. 

When  you  are  talking  with  Englishmen  —  well,  do  not 
talk  quite  as  Englishmen  do,  though  they  may  be  per- 


OVERSTEP   NOT   THE  MODESTY   OF  NATURE.      83 

fectly  sincere,  but  talk  as  Americans  talk.  Say  a  the 
way  they  do  in  Boston,  or  wherever  else  you  may  belong : 
stick  to  your  own  town's  forms  of  speech  so  long  as  they 
are  reasonable.  Above  all  things,  do  not  ape  the  peculiar 
pronunciations  of  certain  individuals.  Affectation,  imi- 
tation in  talk,  is  ruinous.  Be  yourselves  !  Girls  and 
boys  are  not  themselves  as  much  as  they  ought  to  be.  — 
Annie  H.  Ryder. 

The  dangers  from  the  habitual  use  of  slang  cannot  be 
too  strongly  presented.  Imagine  a  girl  of  the  period 
versed  in  the  loose  expressions  of  the  day.  She  goes 
away,  but  after  an  absence  of  five  years  in  a  country  in 
which  she  hears  little  except  in  a  foreign  tongue  she 
returns,  and  with  her  comes  her  slang.  How  common, 
how  witless,  her  talk  appears  !  Her  slang  has  long  since 
gone  out  of  fashion.  The  best  of  English  never  changes 
its  style.  —  Annie  H.  Ryder. 

When  you  seek  employment  put  on  your  best  dress 
and  your  pleasantest  face.  —  Haweis. 

The  women  who  have  learned  to  support  themselves 
without  matrimony  are  just  those  who  are  most  likely 
to  get  happily  married.  Nor  can  we  imagine  any  prouder 
moment  for  a  young  bride  than  when  she  crowns  her 
husband's  living  provision  for  her  with  a  modest  dowry 
of  her  own  earning,  thus  spurring  him  to  do  his  utmost 
for  one  so  worthy  of  him,  and  silently  assuring  him  that 
the  hand  put  in  his,  though  soft  to  clasp,  is  also  strong 
to  help  if  the  necessity  should  ever  come.  —  Hardy. 

As  a  rule  women  are  more  self-denying  and  can  say 
"  I  can't  afford  it "  with  greater  ease  than  men  can  ;  but 
there  are  exceptions,  as  fathers  and  husbands  know  to 


84  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

their  cost.  The  greater  longevity  of  women  as  compared 
with  men  appears  to  be  well  borne  out  by  the  statistics 
of  every  country  that  has  yet  been  examined.  This 
shows  that,  after  all,  it  is  not  low  dresses,  heavy  skirts, 
and  thin  shoes  that  kill  —  it  is  the  paying  for  them  that 
does  it.  "  My  dear  wife,"  as  the  man  said  when  he  looked 
at  the  last  milliner's  bill.  —  Hardy. 

Dr.  Johnson's  friend  Langton  told  his  father  that  he 
had  "  no  turn  to  economy."  Hearing  this,  Johnson  said 
that  a  thief  might  as  well  plead  that  he  had  no  turn  to 
honesty.  The  woman  who  has  no  turn  to  economy  is 
not  likely  to  be  very  honest  or  a  credit  to  her  friends.  — 
Hardy. 

If  you  want  to  make  the  most  of  a  small  income,  and 
have  a  thought  of  buying  anything,  ask  yourself  these 
two  questions  :  u  Do  I  really  want  it  ?  "  "  Can  I  do 
without  it  ?  "  These  two  questions,  answered  honestly, 
will  double  your  fortunes.  —  Sydney  Smith. 

A  woman  is  rich  who  lives  upon  what  she  has.  A 
woman  is  poor  who  lives  upon  what  is  coming.  A  pru- 
dent woman  lives  within  her  income,  whatever  that  may 
be,  and  saves  against  a  rainy  day.  Extravagance  is  not 
in  how  much  we  spend,  but  in  how  we  spend.  A  thou- 
sand pounds  may  be  laid  out  thriftily  ;  a  solitary  shilling 
may  be  shamefully  squandered.  —  Hardy. 

The  tongue  is  glib,  serpent-like,  and  it  is  odd  that 
women  have  it  in  such  perfection,  which  none  have  ever 
doubted.  It  is  their  defence.  The  woman  ate  first,  and 
the  tongue  is  her  particular  forte.  Yet  when  women 
speak  good,  how  well  they  speak  it  out  !  They  are  in 
this  point  the  salt  of  the  earth.  —  General  Gordon. 


O'ER  STEP   NOT  THE  MODESTY  OF  NATURE.     86 

A  kiss  and  a  tin  full  of  cold  water  make  a  very  poor 
breakfast.  —  An  Observing  Girl. 

To  business  that  we  love,  we  rise  betime, 
And  go  to  it  with  delight. 

Shakespeare. 

That  modest  grace  subdued  my  soul, 
That  chastity  of  look  which  seems  to  hang 
A  veil  of  purest  light  o'er  all  her  beauties, 
And  by  forbidding,  most  inflames  desires. 

Young. 

Modesty  is  silent  when  it  would  be  improper  to  speak ; 
the  humble,  without  being  called  upon,  never  recollects 
to  say  anything  of  himself.  —  Lavater. 

The  man  that 's  silent,  nor  proclaims  his  want, 
Gets  more  than  him  that  makes  a  loud  complaint. 

Creech, 


86  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 


CHAPTER   VII. 

THE    CARE    OF    A    HOUSEHOLD. 

"  She  looketh  well  to  the  ways  of  her  household,  and  eateth  not  the 
bread  of  idleness."  —  Proverbs,  xxxi.  27. 

Do  you  know  of  any  part  of  a  girl's  education  that  is 
of  more  importance  to  her  than  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
household  duties  ?  Any  girl,  I  mean,  —  rich  or  poor,  in 
city  or  country.  Think  of  it  for  yourself,  and  make  up 
your  own  mind  about  it.  Do  you  honestly  believe  that 
any  girl  can  be  called  well  educated  who  does  not  know 
how  to  bake  bread,  or  roast  a  joint,  or  make  beds  ?  It 
is  an  important  question,  and  you  cannot  begin  too  early 
in  life  to  consider  it.  If  you  have,  like  many  other 
girls,  reached  the  point  where  you  would  answer,  "  But 
my  studies  take  up  all  my  time ;  I  have  no  time  left 
for  doing  housework,"  that  is  all  the  more  reason  for  you 
to  stop  and  think.     That  is  a  danger  point. 

The  greatest  happiness  that  you  can  hope  to  attain  in 
this  world  is  a  happy  home.  No  career  that  you  can 
plan  and  carve  out  for  yourself,  no  fame,  no  fortune,  can 
take  its  place.  You  may  have  the  career  and  the  fame 
and  the  fortune,  but  if  you  have  not  had  the  happy 
home  you  will  find  before  you  reach  the  end  that  some- 
thing has  been  lacking.  I  know  how  impossible  it  is  for 
many  young  girls  to  understand  and  believe  this,  be- 
cause all  their  present  inclinations  are  in  other  directions. 
But  your  inclinations  and  ambitions  will  change  as  you 
grow  older.  You  need  not  take  a  man's  word  for  this, 
but  look  at  your  own  acquaintances  —  at  the  girls  who 


MARION    HARLAND. 


THE  CARE  OF  A   HOUSEHOLD.  87 

are  a  little  older  than  yourself.  Are  there  any  among 
them  who  at  sixteen  were  "wedded  to  their  art"  ?  who 
cared  nothing  for  male  society,  but  were  perfectly  happy 
when  in  front  of  the  piano  ?  whose  whole  energies  were 
bent  upon  a  few  years'  study  of  music  in  Germany,  or 
art  in  Italy,  to  be  followed  by  a  successful  musical  or 
artistic  or  literary  career  ?  You  have  known  such  girls, 
I  am  sure.  And  what  became  of  them  ?  Did  any  of 
those  girls,  before  they  reached  twenty-five,  wed  some- 
thing more  substantial  than  their  art,  and  shove  the 
piano  stool  or  the  easel  into  a  corner  ?  You  know  that 
that  thing  is  happening  every  day;  and  as  it  happens 
to  other  girls,  does  it  not  stand  to  reason  that  it  may 
happen  to  you  ? 

If  you  are  to  have  a  happy  home  it  lies  with  you  to 
make  it  happy ;  and  you  cannot  make  it  happy  unless  you 
know  how  to  do  it.  The  best  husband  in  the  world  can- 
not make  a  home  happy  without  the  wife's  assistance, 
and  the  best  intentions  on  the  wife's  part  go  for  naught 
unless  she  knows  what  she  is  about.  If  fortune  favors 
you  to  such  an  extent  that  you  can  establish  the  home 
without  the  addition  of  a  husband  it  will  be  only  half 
a  home  at  the  best,  and  only  a  minute  fraction  of  one 
unless  you  know  how  to  superintend  it.  Now,  in  your 
youth,  is  the  time  for  you  to  learn  how  to  take  care  of  a 
household.  And  if  there  are  not  enough  hours  in  the 
day  for  you  to  learn  household  work  and  Latin  at  the 
same  time,  throw  your  Latin  grammar  into  the  waste- 
basket. 

If  you  have  reached  the  mature  age  of  sixteen  you 
should  know  a  great  deal  already  about  the  care  of  a 
household.  How  much  you  know  depends  largely  upon 
your  circumstances  in  life.  You  may  be  so  poor  that 
your  mother  determined  long  ago  that  you,  at  any  rate, 
should  be  "  brought  up  like  a  lady,"  and  not  be  allowed 


88  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

to  soil  your  hands  with  housework.  There  are  a  grea^ 
many  loving  mothers  in  this  country  who  do  their 
daughters  that  injustice.  If  your  parents  are  rich  or 
well-to-do  you  have  almost  certainly  been  taught  some- 
thing about  the  care  of  a  household.  It  is  the  custom 
among  the  rich,  especially  the  very  rich,  to  prepare  their 
daughters  to  preside  over  households.  If  I  could  tell 
you  some  things  I  know  about  the  children  of  the  very 
rich  they  would  surprise  you.  In  most  cases  they  are 
brought  up  to  work.  I  have  in  mind  a  demure  little 
girl  of  about  fourteen  whom  I  met  on  a  steam  yacht  — 
her  father's  yacht  —  some  years  ago.  You  were  never  in 
your  whole  life  dressed  as  plainly  as  she,  I  dare  say,  nor 
ever  had  your  hair  braided  into  a  tighter  pigtail  down 
your  back.  With  his  five  or  six  scores  of  millions  her 
father  could  have  bought  her  better  clothes  if  he  had 
chosen,  but  not  more  suitable  ones.  As  she  ate  with  the 
other  children  at  the  children's  table,  her  father  had  a 
chance  to  boast  of  her  a  little  behind  her  back ;  and  was 
it  of  her  music,  do  you  think,  or  her  classical  learning, 
that  he  told  with  pride  ?  Oh,  no ;  he  boasted  of  her 
ability  to  take  entire  charge  of  his  great  house  in  the 
city,  which  she  often  did  for  weeks  at  a  time,  managing 
more  servants  than  you  or  I  will  ever  be  bothered  with. 
She  was  in  training ;  and  now  that  she  is  the  mistress  of 
her  own  great  house  I  do  not  believe  that  she  regrets  it. 
There  are  girls,  though  I  hope  there  are  none  in  your 
neighborhood,  who  need  no  maternal  commands  to  keep 
them  from  assisting  with  the  work  of  the  house,  who 
take  the  whole  burden  of  maintaining  the  "respecta- 
bility "  of  the  family  upon  their  own  shoulders,  and  are 
ready  at  any  hour  of  the  day,  from  breakfast  till  bed- 
time, to  entertain  guests  in  the  parlor.  It  is  not  hard 
study  that  keeps  these  girls  out  of  the  kitchen,  it  is  some- 
thing else.     I  should  not  have  to  go  far  any  Monday 


THE   CARE  OF  A   HOUSEHOLD.  89 

morning  to  hear  a  mother  and  daughter  keeping  tune, 
more  or  less,  on  two  useful  instruments :  the  daughter 
on  the  piano  in  the  parlor,  the  mother,  an  estimable  old 
lady,  on  the  washboard  in  the  kitchen,  doing  the  family's 
washing.  And  somehow  their  acquaintances  seem  to 
think  no  less  of  the  mother  for  keeping  the  clothes 
clean,  and  not  one  particle  the  more  of  the  daughter  on 
account  of  her  entire  immunity  from  manual  labor.  If 
you  know  any  girl  of  this  kind  do  you  think  we  can 
fairly  include  her  among  the  "  Ambitious  Girls  "  ? 

This  seems  to  be  wandering  away  from  the  subject  of 
learning  to  take  care  of  a  household,  and  leaning  toward 
the  important  subject  of  helping  mother ;  but  the  two 
are  so  closely  allied  that  they  can  hardly  be  separated. 
Ambition  is  a  good  thing  for  girl  or  boy,  but  ambition 
begins  at  home  and  now.  You  must  not  regard  your 
ambition  as  something  distant  and  sacred,  beckoning  you 
from  afar  to  something  great  in  the  dim  future,  so  holy 
that  you  must  speak  of  it  with  bated  breath.  Keep  it  in 
training.  Call  it  up  beside  you  as  you  sit  at  your  desk ; 
it  will  stand  there  meekly  enough  if  you  are  firm  with 
it.  Examine  it,  question  it,  and  if  you  find  it  an  ambi- 
tion that  keeps  you  so  busy  thinking  of  the  great  things 
in  store  for  you  that  you  have  no  time  to  help  wash  the 
dishes,  mould  it  into  better  shape.  You  will  be  surprised 
to  find  how  easily  you  can  change  its  form  when  you 
want  it  changed. 

(jreat  things  come  by  doing  the  little  things  well,  and 
if  you  neglect  the  little  things  of  the  present  the  great 
ones  will  always  remain  in  the  distant  future.  Not  that 
the  care  of  a  household  is  a  little  thing :  for  a  woman  it 
is  one  of  the  most  important  things  in  life.  And  I  am 
not  urging  you  to  consign  yourself  to  a  life  of  washing 
dishes  and  peeling  potatoes.  Far  from  it.  But  I  do 
urge  you,  for  your  own  comfort  and  happiness,  to  know 


90  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

how  those  things  and  the  thousand  other  matters  of  a 
household  should  be  done,  so  that  when  you  have  a 
household  of  your  own  you  can  make  your  home  happy 
and  comfortable.  Your  art  or  your  business  or  your 
profession  will  not  suffer  by  it.  Indeed,  high  art  and  the 
art  of  household  care  are  near  relations.  I  could  show 
you  any  morning  in  New  York  a  dozen  artists  washing 
the  dishes  of  the  breakfasts  they  had  cooked  themselves, 
because  it  is  easier  to  prepare  their  own  coffee  and  cook 
their  own  eggs  than  to  go  out  for  breakfast,  or  be 
bothered  with  a  servant  in  the  studio.  On  the  same 
morning  we  could  go  farther  and  see  a  hundred  more 
artists  who  would  cheerfully  cook  their  own  eggs  if  they 
had  the  eggs  to  cook. 

What  the  care  of  a  household  means  is  so  well  under- 
stood by  every  girl  that  it  needs  little  explanation.  The 
everlasting  washing  of  dishes  is  only  the  beginning. 
Nobody  asks  you  to  look  forward  to  a  life  of  dish-wash- 
ing, though  a  great  many  girls  in  all  the  large  cities 
make  comfortable  livings  by  doing  nothing  else.  But 
know  how  to  do  it,  and  to  do  it  well,  so  that  when  you 
have  your  own  Eliza  Jane  in  your  own  kitchen  you  can 
show  her.  You  can  tell  a  great  deal  about  your  own  dis- 
position by  the  way  you  wash  dishes.  Do  you  have  a 
kettle  of  hot  water  to  scald  them  after  they  are  well 
washed  ?  And  do  you  do  the  glass  and  silver  first,  while 
the  water  is  clean  and  the  towels  dry  ?  And  do  you 
wash  out  the  dish  towels  and  hang  them  up  ?  And  are 
your  pans  scoured  as  clean  outside  as  in  ?  You  see  I 
know  something  about  this  art  myself,  and  about  cooking 
too,  much  to  my  own  comfort,  for  I  have  many  times 
been  in  camps  and  boats  where  I  must  cook  or  go  hungry. 
And  then  the  baking.  It  is  a  fine  thing,  a  real  accom- 
plishment, for  a  girl  to  be  a  good  baker.  She  may  not 
always  have  to  bake,  but  she  should  know  how.     And 


THE  CARE  OF  A   HOUSEHOLD.  91 

do  you  know  how  to  make  a  pie  crust  that  people  can 
bite  ?  It  is  not  all  pie  crusts  that  can  be  bitten,  you 
know.  Your  mother  will  tell  you  the  secret  of  making 
those  crusts  that  melt  in  the  mouth,  or  I  am  much  mis- 
taken ;  and  a  first-rate  pie  of  your  manufacture  will  give 
her  more  satisfaction  than  hearing  your  best  sonata. 
Meats  ?  There  you  must  have  long  experience  —  experi- 
ence that  you  can  best  get  at  home.  You  know  how 
easily  the  green-goods  men  pick  out  a  victim  from  the 
country  in  the  streets  of  a  large  city  ?  Just  so  easily 
will  the  butcher  discover  your  ignorance  and  sell  you 
bad  cuts  if  you  are  inexperienced. 

Mending  the  holes  in  little  George's  stockings  is  part 
of  the  care  of  a  household.  And  knowing  intuitively 
where  his  overshoes  are  when  he  has  shoved  them  under 
the  bookcase.  And  taking  care  of  the  bedrooms,  and 
knowing  how  to  make  a  bed  so  that  there  shall  not  be  a 
single  wrinkle.  And  determining  what  is  to  be  for  dinner 
to-night  and  breakfast  to-morrow  morning ;  and  ordering 
just  the  right  quantity  of  everything,  so  that  there  shall 
be  plenty,  but  nothing  wasted.  And  making  a  mustard 
plaster,  and  keeping  the  sideboard  drawers  clean,  and 
keeping  the  bone  handles  of  knives  out  of  hot  water,  and 
making  your  husband  carry  an  umbrella  when  it  rains  — 
for  they  seldom  do  unless  somebody  makes  them.  These 
are  a  few  samples  of  the  ten  thousand  things  that  consti- 
tute the  care  of  a  household.  They  must  all  be  done, 
and  if  you  do  not  know  how,  who  is  to  do  them  ?  The 
servant  ?  The  model  servant  is  as  likely  to  be  found  as 
the  prince  is  to  come  along  for  a  husband.  They  are 
both  myths.  The  best  servant  you  will  ever  get  must 
be  shown  how  to  do  things,  and  you  will  be  the  one  to 
show  her,  and  you  cannot  show  her  if  you  do  not  know 
yourself. 

Here  is  an  arithmetical  question  for  you:  If  a  girl 


92  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

lives  sixteen  years  at  home  without  learning  to  bake 
bread,  how  long  must  she  be  in  a  studio  before  she  learns 
to  mix  colors?  Or  how  many  years  will  it  take  her  to 
master  Blackstone's  Commentaries,  or  Parsons  on  Con- 
tracts ?  It  is  all  very  well  to  look  forward  to  a  glorious 
career,  but  what  have  you  done  so  far?  Have  you 
learned,  are  you  learning,  those  things  that  are  sure  to 
be  useful  and  necessary  for  you  ?  Do  you  think  your 
"career"  is  a  certainty  because  you  dream  about  it? 
Are  you  so  full  of  a  great  purpose  that  everything  else 
seems  paltry,  unworthy  ?  No  girl,  nor  boy  either,  can 
be  sure  of  making  a  great  success  in  any  business  or 
profession.  With  industry  and  health  you  can  almost 
certainly  support  yourself,  but  beyond  that  there  is  no 
certainty.  Many  a  girl  who  has  been  a  prodigy  at  ten  or 
twelve  has  grown  into  mature  mediocrity.  Perhaps  you 
have  known  some  little  girl  who  was  the  sweetest  singer 
you  ever  heard,  who  was  urged  to  sing  on  all  occasions, 
and  who  was  told  so  often  by  her  sisters  and  cousins  and 
aunts  and  their  friends  that  she  was  destined  to  be  a 
prima  donna  that  she  really  believed  it,  and  became 
"  wedded  to  her  art,"  and  who  had  more  money  spent 
upon  her  musical  education  than  her  father  could  afford, 
—  and  who  now,  after  a  youth  of  disappointments,  has 
taken  her  place  in  the  fourth  row  of  the  chorus  at  ten 
dollars  a  week.  In  every  large  city  are  hundreds  of 
such  prodigies  who  have  proved  to  be  failures.  The 
great  singer  of  a  village  cuts  a  poor  figure  in  a  capital. 
You  will  know  directly  how  many  greatest  singers  and 
greatest  artists  and  greatest  writers  there  are  in  the 
world,  and  how  calm  the  world  is  about  it,  and  how  slow 
to  find  them  out.  Be  sure  that  a  girl's  voice  does  not 
change  more  between  ten  and  twenty  than  her  ambitions 
and  inclinations  change  between  eighteen  and  twenty -five. 
But  a  home  you  must  have,  and  you  will  be  at  a  disad- 
vantage if  you  do  not  know  how  to  take  care  of  it. 


THE  CARE   OF  A   HOUSEHOLD.  93 

Even  in  your  preparatory  days  the  ability  to  manage 
a  household  will  add  greatly  to  your  comfort.  After 
leaving  home  you  will  not  always  "  board."  I  heard  a 
young  girl,  one  of  the  greatest  musicians,  say  the  other 
day,  "  I  lived  two  weeks  in  a  hotel  once ; "  and  she  spoke 
as  if  it  had  been  the  sweetest  period  of  her  existence. 
If  it  had  been  two  years  instead  of  two  Weeks  she 
would  have  looked  upon  it  as  a  term  of  imprisonment, 
for  all  forms  of  boarding  soon  become  irksome.  And 
keeping  your  own  little  establishment  is  usually  far 
cheaper,  which  is  an  object  to  most  girls.  Let  us  sup- 
pose that  your  pet  dream  has  come  true ;  that  you  have 
rubbed  the  magic  lamp,  and  the  slave  has  appeared,  and 
you  have  ordered  up  the  letter  of  credit  that  is  to  carry 
you  to  Europe  and  support  you  in  one  of  the  capitals 
while  you  complete  your  studies,  and  slavey  has  brought 
the  document  in  and  laid  it  on  your  table.  I  am  not 
going  to  spoil  the  dream  by  imagining  anything  but  Paris 
for  you,  though  it  would  be  no  harder  to  take  you  to 
Berlin,  or  Dresden,  or  Munich,  or  Rome.  If  none  of 
your  family  are  with  you,  you  will  at  least  be  with  one 
or  two  other  American  girls.  My  imagination  is  not 
strong  enough  to  see  your  mother  letting  you  go  to 
Europe  alone.  In  Paris,  after  a  few  days  spent  in  get- 
ting your  bearings  in  a  hotel  or  boarding-house,  you  and 
your  party  will  gravitate  naturally  toward  the  Latin 
quarter,  not  because  it  is  the  home  of  art  and  art  stu- 
dents, but  because  it  is  cheap,  because  thousands  of  people 
are  living  there  in  the  cheap  and  comfortable  way  that 
you  wish  to  live,  and  preparations  are  made  for  them. 
We  shall  see  something  of  the  Latin  quarter  in  another 
chapter,  so  I  need  only  say  of  it  here  that  it  is  not  the 
ribald,  hilarious  place  the  novelists  make  it  out,  but  a 
quarter  where  most  of  those  who  would  eat  must  work. 

You  and  your  friends  soon  find  yourselves  settled  in 


94  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

an  appartement  up  a  fabulous  number  of  stairways,  a 
little  home  with  a  parlor  (the  salon)  a  little  larger  than 
a  grand  piano,  a  dining-room  (the  salle-a-manger),  two  or 
three  sleeping-rooms  (chambres),  and  a  kitchen  (cuisine) 
not  quite  as  large  as  your  pantry  at  home.  But  small  as 
it  is,  the  kitchen  is  the  gem  of  the  house.  There  is  a  tap 
of  cold  water,  with  a  stone  sink  beneath  it,  and  a  handy 
little  gas  stove,  and  shelves  and  lockers,  and  a  "  battery," 
as  the  French  call  it,  of  copper  pans  and  kettles  hanging 
on  the  walls,  which  are  for  ornament  rather  than  use, 
because  it  is  one  day's  work  every  week  to  scour  them, 
but  there  are  granite-ware  utensils  besides.  No  room  for 
two  of  you  at  a  time  in  this  kitchen,  but  every  facility 
for  cooking  for  a  small  family.  You  go  out  to  one  of 
Felix  Potin's  immense  stores  and  buy  your  provisions, 
and  the  gas  stove  and  the  girl  who  has  learned  to  cook 
soon  do  the  rest.  Felix  Potin  ?  I  cannot  tell  you  much 
about  him  here,  but  he  will  soon  dawn  upon  you  when 
you  go  to  light  housekeeping  in  Paris.  There  is  nothing 
like  his  stores  in  your  village,  nor  in  my  village  of  New 
York,  nor  in  London,  nor  in  any  other  city  that  I  have 
seen.  The  edibles  of  the  whole  world  are  gathered  in 
his  stores,  and  you  can  buy  them  by  the  ounce  or  the  ton 
as  you  like,  and  his  clerks  will  talk  to  you  in  French  or 
English  or  Hindustani  or  any  other  tongue,  and  all  is 
clean  and  attractive. 

But  of  what  use  are  all  these  conveniences  and  all  of 
Felix  Potin's  delicacies  to  you  if  you  are  no  housekeeper  ? 
—  if  you  are  so  full  of  your  art  that  you  have  neglected 
the  art  of  cooking  ?  A  gas  stove  is  the  cook's  delight, 
but  if  you  are  no  cook  you  cannot  appreciate  it.  You 
cannot  keep  a  servant  in  so  small  a  place,  and  if  you 
could  you  would  not  keep  the  same  one  for  more  than  a 
week  or  two,  and  the  next  one  would  be  worse.  You 
must  depend  upon  yourselves,  and  if  you  are  not  equal 


THE  CARE  OF  A   HOUSEHOLD.  95 

to  the  occasion  you  will  not  live  in  comfort.  That  means 
that  you  will  soon  go  back  to  a  cheap  boarding-house, 
where  there  is  no  comfort  at  all.  And  this  is  only  a 
taste  of  what  you  will  find  all  through  life.  Your  com- 
fort must  be  in  your  own  home,  and  you  are  the  one  who 
must  make  it  comfortable. 

In  your  own  home  you  can  and  should  learn  this 
gentle  art.  If  you  desire  afterward  to  supplement  your 
home  training  you  will  find  many  schools  in  which  such 
things  are  taught.  Notable  among  these  is  the  Pratt 
Institute,  in  Brooklyn,  whose  schedule  of  training  in  this 
important  branch  is  given  below  : 

PRATT   INSTITUTE. 

DEPARTMENT    OP    DOMESTIC    SCIENCE. 

The  purpose  of  the  following  domestic  science  courses  is  to 
afford  training  in  the  special  subjects  which  must  be  considered  in 
the  daily  administration  of  every  home. 

/Drawing ;  physics  ;    chemistry ;  biology ; 

I  household  science  ;  emergencies,  home 

j  nursing,  and  hygiene ;  public  hygiene ; 

Normal  Course    .     .    <  psychology ;  history  of  education ;  Nor- 

j  mal  methods  ;  cookery  ;  sewing;   laun- 

/  dry-work ;     original     work     (thesis) ; 

\  drawing. 

5 Chemistry ;  bacteriology ;  emergencies ; 
marketing ;  cookery ;  invalid  cookery ; 
laundry-work;  household  art;  home 
sanitation ;  household  economy ;  public 
hygiene;  sewing  (optional). 
/Household  science;  emergencies,  home 
\  nursing,  and  hygiene ;  public  hygiene ; 
Special,  Courses  .  .  <  dietetics ;  food  economics ;  lectures 
i  on  marketing;  cookery;  laundry - 
l     work. 


96  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 


GENERAL   INFORMATION. 

Equipment.  —  "Well-appointed  kitchens,  and  chemical,  bacterio- 
logical, and  physical  laboratories,  charts  and  models,  a  library,  and 
collections  constitute  an  efficient  equipment  for  theoretical  and 
practical  work  in  the  subjects  named  above. 

Admission   and   Examinations.  —  In   addition   to   the   general 
requirements  for  admission,  applicants  for  the  Normal  Course  will 
be  examined  in  the  following  subjects  : 
Arithmetic  (percentage  and  the         Physics    (elementary  —  Gage's 

metric  system) .  text-book  or  its  equivalent) . 

Algebra  (through  quadratics).  Physiology  (elementary). 

Plane  geometry  (five  books). 

Applicants  for  the  General  Course  are  required  to  show  evidence 
of  a  good  general  education,  including  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
percentage,  of  the  metric  system,  and  of  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  physiology. 

There  are  no  entrance  examinations  for  the  special  courses. 

Lectures.  —  The  work  of  the  department  is  supplemented  by  a 
series  of  lectures,  open  to  the  public,  given  by  special  investigators 
in  the  different  fields.  The  following  subjects  have  been  discussed 
before  the  department : 

Pure  Food :  Its  Protection  and  Preservation.  —  Mrs.  Etta  Morse 
Hudders,  New  York. 

Food  and  its  Relation  to  Individual  Needs.  —  Dr.  Mary  E. 
Green,  President  of  the  National  Household  Economic  Association. 

Domestic  Architecture.  —  Mr.  Rudolph  L.  Daus,  New  York. 

The  Artistic  in  Household  Utensils.  —  Miss  Louise  Both-Hen- 
driksen,  Brooklyn. 

Domestic  Science  in  the  Common  Schools.  —  Miss  Helen  Kinne, 
New  York. 

Diet  for  Children. — Mrs.  Louise  E.  Hogan,  Philadelphia. 

The  Change  in  the  Feminine  Ideal.  —  Mrs.  Margaret  Deland, 
Boston. 

Sanitation  :  What  it  means  for  Women.  —  Dr.  Mary  E.  Green, 
President  of  the  National  Household  Economic  Association. 


THE  CARE  OF  A   HOUSEHOLD.  97 


NORMAL   COURSE. 

Five  Bays  Each   Week  —  Two   Years. 

The  object  of  the  course  is  primarily  to  train  the  mind  and  to 
give  a  thorough  foundation  for  future  work ;  secondarily,  to  em- 
phasize the  application  to  the  special  work  of  Domestic  Science. 

The  course  aims  to  meet  the  increased  demand  from  the  second- 
ary schools  for  teachers  thoroughly  trained  in  Domestic  Science 
and  capable  of  correlating  it  with  the  other  work  of  the  school. 

Instruction  is  given  by  means  of  lectures  and  recitations,  sup- 
plemented by  as  much  laboratory  work  as  the  best  methods  de- 
mand. 

Course  of  Study. 


First  Year 


^Drawing. 

j Physics  (energy  and  heat). 

j Chemistry  (general  and  qualitative). 

(Biology  (botany,  zoology,  physiology). 


'Chemistry     (quantitative     and     organic) ; 

chemistry  of  cooking. 
Chemistry  of   foods ;  chemistry  of  diges- 
Second  Year     .     .     '       tion  and  calculation  of  dietaries. 
Household  science. 

Emergencies,  home  nursing,  and  hygiene. 
'Original  work  (thesis). 

The  applied  work  includes  courses  in  cookery,  laundry-work, 
and  sewing. 

The  field-work  involves  a  study  of  manufacturing  processes. 

Psychology  and  the  history  of  education,  together  with  instruc- 
tion in  Normal  methods,  observation  of  class-work,  and  practice 
in  teaching,  under  supervision  and  independently,  receive  due 
attention  throughout  the  two  years. 

In  the  last  term  of  the  second  year  a  thesis  recording  the  results 
of  personal  investigation  is  required  of  each  candidate  for  a 
diploma,  as  a  test  of  her  ability  to  do  original  work. 

Each  graduate  is  urged  to  keep  the  department  informed  of  her 
work,  progress,  and  difficulties,  in  order  that  it  may  be  better  able 
to  meet  the  needs  of  the  schools  and  to  be  of  service  to  the  indi- 
vidual teacher. 


98 


HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


GENERAL    COURSE. 

Five  Days  Each   Week —  One   Tear. 

To  enable  young  women  to  meet  intelligently  the  growing  demands 
of  home  and  society  and  to  utilize  the  opportunity  for  original  re- 
search which  the  home  affords,  the  following  course  offers  train- 
ing in  some  of  those  arts  and  sciences  which  are  closely  related  to 
daily  life  : 

Course  of  Study. 


Chemistry  of  foods,  with 
calculation  of  dietaries. 
Household  science. 
Household  art. 
Home  sanitation. 
Household  economy. 
Public  hygiene. 
Sewing  (optional). 


Chemistry. 

Bacteriology. 

Emergencies. 

1  Quality. 
Food  value. 
Cost  of  food  materials. 
Cookery,  housekeepers'  course. 
Invalid  cookery. 
Laundry-work. 

These  subjects  will  be  pursued  in  classes  in  which  the  work  will 
be  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  students.  Opportunity  will  be 
given  for  original  investigation  of  any  question  of  special  interest 
to  the  student. 

HOUSEHOLD    SCIENCE. 

A  course  of  thirty-six  lectures,  treating  of  the  evolution  of  the 
house  as  well  as  the  essential  principles  of  household  art,  house 
sanitation,  and  household  economy,  is  offered  in  the  terms  begin- 
ning in  September  and  January.  Following  is  a  brief  outline  of 
the  course : 

Architecture. 
Interior  decoration. 
Furnishing. 

, Situation  of  the  house ;  surroundings  ;  cellar. 
Removal  of  wastes ;    plumbing   and   care   of 
fixtures. 
(b)   House  Sani-  /  Substitutes  for  water-carriage. 
tation.       \  Water-supply. 

Ventilation,  heating,  lighting. 
Sanitary  furnishing  and  general  care  of  the 
house. 


(a)  Evolution  of 
the  House. 


THE  CABE  OF  A   HOUSEHOLD.  99 

(The  arrangement  of  work  and  furnishings. 
(c)      Household     JThe  care,  in  detail,  of  every  part  of  the  house. 
Economy.     jHousecleaning.     Household  accounts. 

(Mistress  and  maid.     Household  amenities. 

EMERGENCIES,    HOME    NURSING,    AND    HYGIENE. 

A  course  of  lectures,  supplemented  by  the  physicians'  course 
in  cookery,  is  offered  in  the  terms  beginning  in  September  and 
January. 

The  work  of  bandaging,  producing  artificial  respiration,  appli- 
cation of  splints,  lifting  helpless  patients,  and  preparing  and 
applying  poultices  is  done  by  the  pupil  under  the  personal  super- 
vision of  the  instructor,  until  a  reasonable  degre'e  of  proficiency  is 
attained. 

PUBLIC    HYGIENE. 

In  the  spring  term  a  course  of  twelve  lectures  on  Public  Hygiene 
is  given.     The  principal  subjects  are  : 

The  care  of  streets,  sewers,  and  water-supply. 

Precaution  against  the  spread  of  contagious  diseases. 

Quarantine  disinfection. 

The  laws,  and  the  reasons  for  them,  concerning  the  inspection 
of  milk,  butter,  meat,  and  other  foods. 

School  hygiene. 

DIETETICS. 

A  course  of  ten  lessons  in  practical  dietaries  for  families  will 
be  given  to  housekeepers  who  wish  an  intelligent  idea  of  the  sub- 
ject and  who  have  not  the  time  to  study  chemistry  or  to  make  inves- 
tigations for  themselves. 

The  following  is  an  outline  of  the  basis  of  the  course  :  The 
composition  of  the  body ;  its  waste  and  repair ;  need  of  food ; 
kinds  and  proportions  required;  composition  of  various  food 
materials  ;  use  of  each  in  the  body ;  digestibility  of  each ;  desirable 
combinations  ;  best  methods  of  cooking  in  order  to  secure  greatest 
nutritive  value  at  least  cost ;  modes  of  meeting  the  needs  of  the 
individual ;  calculation  of  dietaries ;  and,  so  far  as  the  present 
state  of  science  will  permit,  the  solution  of  dietetic  problems  aris- 
ing in  the  home. 


100  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


FOOD    ECONOMICS. 

A  demand  for  persons  trained  as  purveyors  for  public  institu- 
tions, hospitals,  and  schools  led  to  the  announcement  of  a  course 
in  Food  Economics,  embracing  the  following  topics  : 

(a).     The  selection  of  food  material  with  regard  to  quality,  food 

value,  and  cost.     Marketing  and  buying  by  sample. 
(6).     Methods    of   preparation  in  large  quantities.     (This  will 

include  u  New  England  Kitchen  "  dishes.) 
The  care  of  food, 
(c).     Serving  —  embodying  general  dining-room  economy. 

Field-work  —  visits  to  public  kitchens  and  to  manufactories 
of  kitchen  and  hotel  furnishings. 

The  Institute  kitchen  and  lunch-room,  serving  daily  between 
two  and  three  hundred  guests,  provides  the  necessary  laboratory 
facilities. 

This  course  is  intended  for  men  and  women  already  qualified 
for  responsible  positions  by  character  and  practical  experience. 
It  covers  only  three  months,  and  will  be  repeated  each  term,  be- 
ginning in  September,  January,  and  April. 

COOKERY. 

Day  and  Evening  Classes. 

The  following  courses  in  cookery  are  offered  to  meet  the  needs 
of  different  classes  of  students  : 

Housekeepers'  Class.  —  The  Housekeepers'  class  is  designed 
for  mothers  and  housekeepers,  many  of  whom,  though  without 
scientific  training,  desire  a  somewhat  deeper  study  of  foods  and 
their  preparation  than  a  merely  technical  one  affords. 

An  outline  of  the  practical  work  follows  : 

First  Course  —  Twenty-four  Lessons. 

Making  and  care  of  fire.  Marketing. 

Measuring.  Meats  and  warmed-over  dishes. 

Dish-washing  and  care  of  kitchen.  Broiling. 

Table-laying.  Roasting. 

Cereals  and  vegetables.  Batters  ;  breads. 

Eggs.  Pastry;  cake. 

Soups.  Puddings  and  sauces. 


THE  CARE  OF  A    HOUSEHOLD.  101 

Second  Course  —  Twenty-four  Lessons. 

Canning;  preserving;  pickling.        Entrees  and  sauces. 
Souffl6s  and  croquettes.  Roast  game. 

Salads  and  mayonnaise  dressing.      Fancy  desserts. 
Frozen  creams. 

Fancy  Course.  —  Pupils  qualified  for  advanced  work  are  offered 
a  course  in  fancy  cookery. 

Cooks'  Course.  —  Wednesday  Evening,  one  lesson  a  week. 
—  This  is  a  condensation  of  the  first  and  second  courses,  embrac- 
ing their  essential  principles,  with  instructions  in  table-laying  and 
serving.  It  is  offered  to  cooks  who  are  unable  to  give  the  time 
required  by  the  separate  courses. 


Course  of  Study. 

Making  and 

care  of  fire ;  dish-wash- 

Salads. 

ing  and  care  of  kitchen ;  measuring. 

Puddings. 

Vegetables. 

Sauces. 

Soups. 

Cake. 

Meats. 

Pastry. 

Fish. 

Desserts. 

Breads  —  plain 

and  fancy. 

Physicians'  or  Nurses'  Class.  —  In  the  Physicians'  or  Nurses5 
class,  where  the  study  of  nutrition  is  of  first  importance,  special 
emphasis  is  laid  upon  the  results  of  laboratory  and  hospital  investi- 
gations bearing  upon  the  nutritive  value  and  the  digestibility  of 
foods  as  affected  by  seemingly  unimportant  conditions  in  their 
preparation. 

Saturday  Morning  Schoolgirls'  Class.  —  The  Schoolgirls' 
class,  meeting  only  on  Saturday  mornings,  is  designed  for  girls 
from  twelve  to  sixteen  years  of  age. 

The  course  of  study  is  a  graded  one,  and  consists  of  forty-eight 
lessons,  twelve  of  which  treat  of  invalid  cookery. 

Chafing-Dish  Course.  —  A  series  of  demonstration  lessons 
upon  the  use  of  the  chafing-dish,  illustrating  the  convenience  and 
attractiveness  of  this  method  of  cookery,  is  given  to  day  and  even- 
ing classes. 

Lectures  on  Marketing.  —  A  series  of  lectures  on  methods 
of  buying  and  keeping  meats,  fish,  and  green  and  dry  groceries  is 


102  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

given  each  term.  These  lectures  are  illustrated  by  the  complete 
collection  of  dry  groceries  belonging  to  the  Department,  and  by 
fresh  meats,  fish,  and  vegetables  purchased  expressly  for  the 
occasion.  Opportunity  is  afforded  for  the  members  of  the  class  to 
visit  all  the  large  markets  of  New  York  and  Brooklyn. 

Private  Lessons.  —  Private  lessons  are  given  if  desired.  To 
all  pupils,  except  those  taking  private  lessons,  materials  are  fur- 
nished free  of  charge. 

KITCHEN-GARDEN. 

A  series  of  twelve  lessons  on  the  care  of  the  house  will  be  given 
to  classes  of  children  on  Saturday  mornings.  This  course  will  be 
a  modified  form  of  Kitchen-garden  work,  and  for  it  the  Kitchen- 
garden  occupations  will  be  used. 

LAUNDRY-WORK. 

Day  and  Evening  Classes. 

The  course  of  twelve  lessons  includes  the  following  topics  : 

Some  historical  notes  regarding  laundry  work.  Location  of  the 
laundry;  appointments;  care  of  appointments. 

Classification  of  articles  to  be  laundered.  White  —  table-linen, 
bed-linen,  body-linen.     Colored  —  flannels. 

Talks  upon  water,  washing-soda,  soaps,  bleaching-powders,  blu- 
ings, with  tests.     Methods  of  removing  stains. 

Practice  work;  scalding,  rinsing,  and  bluing  bed-linen  and 
towels. 

Sprinkling,  stretching,  folding,  and  ironing.  Starch  —  history 
and  preparation. 

Practice  work ;  starch-making.     Table-linen. 

Body-linen  and  handkerchiefs. 

Shirts,  collars,  and  cuffs.     Cold  and  boiled  starch. 

Underwear  —  silk,  merino,  flannel. 

Prints  and  hosiery. 

Clear-starching;  infants'  dresses,  fancy  handkerchiefs. 

Laces  and  embroidery. 

Crewel  embroidery.     Colored  silk  embroidery. 

14  From  our  own  selves  our  joys  must  flow, 
And  that  dear  hut,  our  home." 

Nathaniel  Cotton. 


TO   THE  HOUSEWIFE   THAT'S   THRIFTY:'      103 


CHAPTER   VIII. 
"here  's  to  the  housewife  that  's  thrifty." 

She  was  a  woman  of  a  stirring  life, 
Whose  heart  was  in  her  house ;  two  wheels  she  had, 
Of  antique  form ;  this  large  for  spinning  wool,  — 
That  small  for  flax ;  and  if  one  wheel  had  rest, 
It  was  because  the  other  was  at  work. 

Wordsworth, 

A  good  wife  is  a  good  housewife.  —  Wilson. 

A  good  housewife  is  the  priestess  of  the  temple  of 
home.  —  Elizabeth  Thomas. 

Nothing  lovelier  can  be  found 

In  woman,  than  to  study  household  good, 

And  good  works  in  her  husband  to  promote. 

Milton. 

The  foot  on  the  cradle,  and  hand  on  the  distaff,  are  the 
signs  of  a  good  housewife.  —  Calderon. 

A  good  housewife  is  a  gift  bestowed  upon  man  to  rec- 
oncile him  to  the  loss  of  Paradise.  — ;  Fawcet. 

A  woman  may  be  beautiful,  but  without  the  endow- 
ments and  qualifications  of  a  good  housewife,  external 
attractions  are  nothing.  —  B.  Wentworth. 


104  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

A  good  housewife  is  the  ivy  which  beautifies  the  build- 
ing to  which  it  clings,  twining  its  tendrils  more  lovingly 
as  time  converts  the  ancient  edifice  into  a  ruin.  —  Miss 
Mary  Ferrier. 

No  housewives  can  reasonably  complain  of  incapability, 
for  experience  will  soon  teach  them  by  what  means  they 
may  best  accomplish  the  end  they  have  in  view.  —  Mrs. 
S.  S.  Ellis. 

Quick  is  the  succession  of  human  events :  the  cares  of 
to-day  are  seldom  the  cares  of  to-morrow ;  and  when  we 
lie  down  at  night,  we  may  safely  say  to  most  of  our 
troubles,  Ye  have  done  your  worst  and  we  shall  meet  no 
more.  —  Cowper. 

Do  not  indulge  romantic  ideas  of  superhuman  excel- 
lence. Remember  that  the  fairest  creature  is  a  fallen 
creature.  Yet  let  not  your  standard  be  low.  If  it  be 
absurd  to  expect  perfection,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to 
expect  consistency.  Do  not  suffer  yourself  to  be  caught 
by  a  shining  quality,  till  you  know  it  is  not  counteracted 
by  the  opposite  defect.  Be  not  taken  in  by  strictness  in 
one  point  till  you  are  assured  there  is  no  laxity  in  others. 
In  character,  as  in  architecture,  proportion  is  beauty.  — 
Hannah  More. 

It  is  well  for  mothers  to  know  and  to  teach  their 
daughters  the  simple  truth  that  we  can  be  trimly  and 
becomingly  arrayed  in  linen  or  gingham  morning  and 
walking-gowns,  and  that  on  summer  afternoons  in  the 
country  a  wash-lawn  or  cambric  is  more  suitable  because 
more  comfortable  than  silk  or  grenadine.  A  child  puts 
on  self-consciousness  —  that  bane  to  human  comfort  and 
grace  —  with  clothes  that  must  be  thought  of  and  cared 
for  at  every  turn.  —  Marion  Harland. 


"  TO    THE  HOUSEWIFE   THAT'S   THRIFTY:'1      105 

The  making  of  a  true  home  is  really  our  peculiar  and 
inalienable  right ;  a  right  which  no  man  can  take  from 
us ;  for  a  man  can  no  more  make  a  home  than  a  drone 
can  make  a  hive.  —  Frances  Power  Cobbe. 

Why  do  so  few  women  attain  to  complete  mastery  of 
any  craft?  Because  not  one  in  ten  thousand  expects 
to  make  this  or  that  trade  the  business  of  her  life.  It  is 
something  by  which  she  hopes  to  earn  bread  and  clothes 
until  she  gets  married.  Being  perpetually  on  the  outlook 
for  the  fortunate  chance  that  is  to  relieve  her  from  the 
necessity  of  paid  labor,  she  is  content  to  learn  just  as 
little  as  will  suffice  to  keep  her  in  her  situation.  The 
man  who  knows  that  he  is  fitting  himself  for  a  calling 
he  will  relinquish  only  with  existence,  makes  it  a  part  of 
himself  and  himself  a  part  of  it.  —  Madame  Demorest. 

Madame  Demorest  has,  perhaps,  accounted  for  the 
fact  that  there  are  so  few  artistes  in  the  United  States. 
Who  will  explain  the  fact,  yet  more  patent,  of  the  grow- 
ing neglect  of  practical  housewifery  on  the  part  of 
young  women  whose  hope  and  expectation  are  to  possess 
and  take  care  of  houses  of  their  own  at  some  —  perchance 
very  early  —  day  ?  That  they  are  thus  indifferent  is  no 
haphazard  assertion.  —  Marion  Harland. 

Here  is  the  source  of  discontent.  Our  daughters  fit 
loosely  into  their  places  in  our  homes.  What  they  do 
there  is  for  us,  and  of  grace,  and  they  are  defrauded  if 
due  recompense  of  thanks  is  not  awarded  to  them  for 
helping  mother.  We  are  not  likely  to  rebel  at  this  order 
of  things,  ours  being  glad  and  willing  service.  The  fear 
of  drawing  down  the  suspicion  of  selfishness  upon  our 
singleness  of  loyalty  by  assigning  a  share  of  domestic 
cares  to  them  as  the  work  they  must  undertake  for  their 
own  sake  blinds  us  to  their  real  good.  —  Marion  Harland, 


106  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Where  is  the  mother  who  has  the  moral  courage  to 
say  to  the  emancipated  school-girl,  "  You  begin  now 
another  and  important  novitiate.  Under  my  tutelage 
you  must  study  housekeeping  in  all  departments  and 
details.  In  one  year's  time  you  should  be  competent  to 
take  my  place  if  necessary.  I  expect  and  shall  demand 
of  you  a  practical  knowledge  of  baking,  roasting,  boiling, 
frying,  broiling,  as  well  as  of  mixing.  It  is  not  enough 
for  you  to  understand  the  art  of  preparing  fancy  sweets. 
You  must  be  versed  in  the  mysteries  of  soups,  gravies, 
and  entrees.  Moreover,  you  must  learn  how  to  market 
wisely,  and  to  accommodate  expenditures  to  means.  All 
this  and  much  more  of  the  same  sort  of  housewifery  will 
be  imperatively  needed  should  you  marry.  If  you 
remain  single  it  will  yet  be  of  incalculable  service  to  you 
and  a  wholesome  exercise  of  mind  and  body."  —  Marion 
Harland. 

Few  middle-class  women  live  and  die  without  having 
to  manage  a  house,  either  their  own  or  another  person's. 
A  pleasure  to  some  women  and  a  torment  to  others,  it  is 
a  duty  that  has  to  be  done  somehow  by  all.  —  Edith  A. 
Barnett. 

Household  work  and  household  management  is  the 
most  permanent  and  one  of  the  best  paid  of  all  the  many 
professions  for  women.  A  woman  who  can  manage 
either  a  large  or  a  small  house  well  is  always  sure  of 
employment  and  an  income.  —  Edith  A.  Barnett. 

In  many  instances  mother  and  daughter  may  justly 
divide  the  fault.  One  errs  after  serious  and  unselfish 
calculation  of  the  weight  of  two  evils.  She  can  force 
her  child  into  a  delightless  routine  of  labor ;  be  stung 
and  stabbed  by  the  sight  of  her  reluctant  performance  of 


"TO    THE  HOUSEWIFE   THAT'S    THRIFTY."       107 

detested  impositions  and  the  hearing  of  her  mutinous 
murmurs  over  the  squandering  of  her  precious  time  on 
what  servants  are  bound  to  perform.  Or  she  can  let  her 
bonny  nestling  nutter  free  from  servile  chains,  gladden- 
ing her  home  that  now  is,  with  chirp  and  song,  with  no 
prevision  of  future  enslavement.  —  Marion  Harland. 

"  I  hate  to  make  my  bed ;  and  I  hate,  hate  to  sew ; 
and  I  hate,  hate,  hate  to  go  cooking  around  the  kitchen. 
It  makes  a  crawling  down  my  back  to  sew.  But  the 
crawling  comes  from  hating  :  the  more  I  hate,  the  more 
I  crawl.  And  mamma  never  cooked  about  the  kitchen. 
I  think  that  is  a  servant's  work.  On  the  whole,  papa,  I 
have  so  many  sorrows  in  this  world  that  I  don't  care  to 
live  ! "  —  "  The  Story  of  Avis." 

Are  you  not  surprised  to  find  how  independent  of 
money  peace  of  conscience  is,  and  how  much  happiness 
can  be  condensed  in  the  humblest  home  ?  A  cottage 
will  not  hold  the  bulky  furniture  and  sumptuous  accom- 
modations of  a  mansion  ;  but  if  God  be  there,  a  cottage 
will  hold  as  much  happiness  as  might  stock  a  palace.  — 
Rev.  C.  Hamilton. 

Your  one-ideaed  man  is  as  truly  diseased  in  perception 
and  in  judgment  as  is  the  woman  who  rides  her  hobby 
of  art,  literature,  social,  religious,  or  political  reform 
rough-shod  over  the  wreck  of  domestic  comfort  and  hap- 
piness. She  who  neglects  to  comb  her  hair  and  darn  her 
children's  socks  while  she  is  painting  for  posterity,  or 
accepts  an  invitation  to  address  a  Woman's  Suffrage 
Convention  that  calls  her  a  hundred  miles  away  from 
home  when  her  baby  lies  ill  with  croup,  would  be  as 
selfish  in  devotion  to  her  specialty  had  her  choice  lighted 
on  Kensington  embroidery  or  preserves.  — Marion  Har- 
land. 


108  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

Domestic  life  has  its  peculiar  trials,  but  so  has  every 
other  condition  of  this  our  mortal  probation.  They 
who  wear  thin  shoes  and  step  gingerly  will  feel  the 
pebbles  in  the  path.  It  is  the  firm  tread  of  the  stout 
boot  that  presses  them  into  the  earth.  —  Marion  Harland. 

You  may  pass  a  long,  useful,  and  contented  life  with- 
out learning  how  to  embroider  a  tidy.  As  American 
homes  now  are  —  and  there  is  faint  prospect  of  recon- 
struction of  our  domestic  system  —  no  American  woman, 
however  exalted  or  assured  her  social  rank,  or  whatever 
may  be  her  accomplishments,  can  afford  to  remain  igno- 
rant of  practical  housewifery.  This  is  a  rule  without 
exception.  Disregard  of  it  is  unwise  and  selfish.  Ab- 
sorption in  your  chosen  art  or  profession,  however  worthy 
it  may  be  in  itself,  becomes  a  fault  when  it  ignores  the 
claims  of  others  upon  time  and  consideration.  It  is  not 
enough  that  your  aims  are  high,  your  ends  noble.  — 
Marion  Harland. 

That  mistress  of  a  family  who  keeps  her  house  in 
beautiful  domestic  order  is  commended  by  the  other  sex. 
—  Mrs.  Willard. 

One  of  the  best  things  about  housekeeping  is  that  it 
requires  the  exercise  of  the  highest  faculties  of  the 
human  mind.  —  Emma  W.  Babcock. 

The  science  of  housekeeping  affords  exercise  for  the 
judgment  and  energy,  ready  recollection,  and  patient 
self-possession,  that  are  the  characteristics  of  a  superior 
mind.  —  Mrs.  Sigourney. 

To  be  an  excellent  housekeeper  is  in  itself  one  of  the 
lesser  aims  of  life  to  a  woman  of  culture  and  refinement. 


"  TO   THE  HOUSEWIFE   THAT'S   THRIFTY:'       109 

The  ministry  to  her  kind  by  means  of  an  intelligent 
comprehension  of  it,  and  just  personal  attention  to 
domestic  details,  should  be  a  study  and  a  purpose.  — 
Marion  Harland. 

A  well-regulated  home  is  a  millennium  on  a  small 
scale.  —  Talmuge. 

The  road  to  home  happiness  lies  over  small  stepping- 
stones.  —  E.  Jesse. 

Nothing  in  the  world  is  more  beautiful  than  a  happy 
home.  —  Tilton. 

He  is  happiest,  be  he  king  or  peasant,  who  finds  peace 
in  his  home.  —  Goethe. 

The  name  of  home  is  so  sweet  that  we  cannot  leave  it 
for  a  trifle.  —  J.  Hall. 

Some  persons  can  be  everywhere  at  home ;  others  can 
sit  musingly  at  home  and  be  everywhere.  —  G.  D.  Pren- 
tice. 

Love  of  home  is  planted  deep  in  the  nature  of  man. 
The  finger  of  God  points  to  home,  and  says  to  us  all, 
There  is  the  place  to  find  your  earthly  joy.  Shall  we 
appeal  to  the  testimony  of  those  who  have  sought  joy 
elsewhere,  or  have  tried  to  find  happiness  in  the  world  ? 
We  have  but  one  answer  for  them  all,  that  the  search 
has  been  fruitless.  —  Phoebe  Cary. 

Unless  you  habitually  court  the  privacy  of  the  domes- 
tic circle,  you  will  find  that  you  are  losing  that  intimate 
acquaintance  with  those  who  compose   it  which  is  its 


110  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

chief  charm  and  the  source  of  all  its  advantage.  »In 
your  family  alone  can  there  be  that  intercourse  of  heart 
with  heart  which  falls  like  refreshing  dew  on  the  soul 
when  it  is  withered  and  parched  by  the  heats  of  busi- 
ness and  the  intense  selfishness  which  you  must  hourly 
meet  in  public  life.  Unless  your  affections  are  sheltered 
in  that  sanctuary  they  cannot  long  resist  the  blighting 
influence  of  a  constant  repression  of  their  development, 
and  a  compulsory  substitution  of  calculation  in  their 
stead.  Domestic  privacy  is  necessary  not  only  to  your 
happiness,  but  even  to  your  efficiency  ;  it  gives  the  rest 
necessary  to  your  active  powers  of  judgment  and  dis- 
crimination ;  it  keeps  unclosed  those  well-springs  of  the 
heart  whose  flow  is  necessary  to  float  onwards  the  deter- 
mination of  the  head.  It  is  not  enough  that  the  indul- 
gence of  these  affections  should  fill  up  the  casual  chinks 
of  your  time ;  they  must  have  their  allotted  portion  of 
it,  with  which  nothing  but  urgent  necessity  should  be 
allowed  to  interfere.  —  Dr.  W.  C.  Taylor. 

In  recent  issues  of  Poole's  "  Index  "  I  find  whole  pages 
devoted  to  the  consideration  of  woman.  She  is  discussed 
as  a  Smuggler  and  as  a  School  Director,  as  a  Detective  and 
as  a  Drunkard,  as  a  Public  Servant  and  as  a  Guardian 
Angel,  as  a  Tactician  and  as  a  Merchant,  as  a  Mannish 
Maiden  and  as  a  Sceptic.  Somebody  finds  things  to  say 
about  "Women  as  Women."  Somebody  else  retorts 
with  "  Women  as  they  are  Supposed  to  Be,"  and  still 
another  gives  the  tail  of  the  argument  a  last  and  pre- 
sumably authoritative  twist  in  the  discussion  of  "  Women 
as  They  Are."  —  Helen  Watterson  Moody. 

I  am  not  recommending  girls  to  learn  household  work 
in  order  to  get  them  married  the  sooner ;  I  only  say  that 
whether  as  wives  or  spinsters  they  will  be  worth  more. 


"  TO   THE  HOUSEWIFE  THAT  >S   THRIFTY."      Ill 

A  capable  housewife  is  not  hindered  from  marrying ; 
and  neither  is  she  helped,  though  I  often  wish  she  were. 
But  that  she  has  a  better  chance  of  success  in  married 
life  no  one  can  doubt  for  a  minute  who  has  any  wide  ex- 
perience of  society,  or  who  has  been  accustomed  to  listen 
to  long  panegyrics  on  married  bliss,  or  still  longer  jere- 
miads on  married  misery.  —  Edith  A.  Barnett. 

One  might  define  a  heroine  as  the  average  American 
woman  who  does  her  own  housekeeping.  —  Helen  Wat- 
terson  Moody. 

Woman  is,  by  nature,  the  home-founder  and  the  home- 
maker.  It  was  woman,  not  man,  who  opened  the  indus- 
trial world;  it  was  woman  who  made  the  first  rude 
dwellings,  and  dressed  skins,  and  wove  textiles  for  cloth- 
ing. It  was  woman,  and  not  man,  who  made  the  first 
fire,  and  the  first  utensils  for  cooking,  and  the  first  rude 
tools  for  industrial  ends.  All  her  activities  clustered 
about  the  hearth  and  ministered  to  the  home.  If  the 
woman  and  the  work  had  not  reacted  upon  each  other  so 
that,  to-day,  women  should  be  by  nature  home-makers 
and  home-lovers,  there  are  still  depths  for  the  scientists 
to  sound  in  the  working  of  heredity  and  of  natural  selec- 
tion. —  Helen  Watterson  Moody. 

Yet  the  enormous  piles  of  stone  and  brick  rapidly 
filling  the  choice  plots  of  ground  in  our  large  cities  and 
shutting  out  the  light  of  heaven  with  their  gabled  tops, 
are  mute  if  not  magnificent  witness  to  the  fact  that  the 
investment  of  capital  is  all  against  the  perpetuation  of 
the  separate  home.  The  shrewd  modern  investor  is  will- 
ing to  put  hundreds  of  thousands  against  hundreds  of 
dollars  that  (for  his  lifetime  at  least)  women  are  going 
to  prefer  the  ease  of  the  apartment  hotel  to  the  separate 


112  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

house,  with  its  privacy,  its  own  table,  and,  alas,  its  own 
service.  —  Helen  Watterson  Moody. 

Not  long  ago  I  had  to  advertise  for  a  housekeeper. 
Replies  came  by  the  hundred ;  and  at  least  fifty  per  cent, 
of  the  women  who  wanted  the  place  recommended  them- 
selves on  the  ground  that  they  had  been  brought  up  in  a 
luxurious  home  and  were  now  penniless ;  or  that  they 
had  kept  house  for  a  father  who  had  gone  bankrupt ;  or 
that  they  had  always  been  accustomed  to  have  things 
"  nice,"  and  had  not  been  trained  to  any  work.  For 
what  other  duties  would  a  woman  recommend  herself, 
because  hitherto  she  had  fulfilled  none  of  them  ?  — Edith 
A.  Barnett. 

Those  who  know  most  about  the  work  done  by  women 
who  are  no  longer  young,  and  who  have  not  been  trained 
to  any  particular  work,  know  that  their  failure  is  gen- 
erally due  to  want  of  business  habits.  It  is  not  that  they 
can't  do  this  or  that,  but  that  they  can't  do  anything 
every  day,  year  in  and  year  out.  The  woman  who  can 
be  trusted  to  get  up  early  in  the  morning  without 
being  called,  and  whom  you  can  leave  at  work  in  the 
absolute  certainty  that  she  will  keep  steadily  on  at  it 
till  you  come  back  again,  is  one  for  whom  anybody 
could  find  work  of  some  sort  to-morrow  morning.  — 
Edith  A.  Barnett. 

Fretfulness  of  temper  will  generally  characterize  those 
who  are  negligent  of  order.  —  Blair. 

Great  effects  come  of  industry  and  perseverance ;  for 
audacity  doth  almost  bind  and  mate  the  weaker  sort  of 
minds.  —  Lord  Bacon. 


"TO   THE  HOUSEWIFE   THAT'S   THRIFTY."      113 

Perpetual  pushing  and  assurance  put  a  difficulty  out 
of  countenance,  and  make  a  seeming  impossibility  give 
way.  —  Jeremy  Collier. 

There  is  no  moment  like  the  present ;  not  only  so,  but, 
moreover,  there  is  no  moment  at  all,  that  is,  no  instant 
force  and  energy,  but  in  the  present.  The  man  who  will 
not  execute  his  resolutions  when  they  are  fresh  upon  him 
can  have  no  hope  from  them  afterwards ;  they  will  be 
dissipated,  lost,  and  perish  in  the  hurry  and  skurry  of 
the  world,  or  sunk  in  the  slough  of  indolence.  —  Maria 
Edgeworth. 

There  is  a  majesty  in  simplicity  which  is  far  above 
the  quaintness  of  wit.  —  Pope. 


114  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 


CHAPTER   IX. 


TEACHING. 


"  This  noble  ensample  to  his  shepe  he  yaf,  — 
That  first  he  wrought,  and  afterwards  he  taught." 

Geoffrey  Chaucer. 

"  And  gladly  wolde  he  lerne,  and  gladly  teche." 

Chaucer. 

The  objection  often  made  to  many  employments  for 
women,  that  it  is  "  something  new,"  cannot  be  made  to 
teaching.  Women  have  been  teachers  almost  since  there 
was  anything  to  teach,  and  they  will  continue  to  be 
teachers  as  long  as  there  are  children  in  the  world.  It 
must  be  so,  and  fashion  and  custom  could  not  change  it 
if  they  would.  Woman  is  a  natural  teacher ;  but,  like 
man,  she  must  learn  before'  she  can  teach.  There  is 
nothing  new  about  that  either.  Neither  man  nor  woman 
can  teach  what  he  or  she  does  not  know.  Those  quota- 
tions from  Chaucer  at  the  head  of  this  chapter  show 
that  that  principle  was  understood  in  his  day,  and  he 
died  nearly  a  century  before  America  was  discovered. 
"  First  he  wrought,  and  afterwards  he  taught."  "  Gladly 
would  he  learn  and  gladly  teach."  Teaching  was  a  very 
different  matter  in  those  times,  and  with  our  vastly  im- 
proved methods  in  these  days  we  are  too  likely  to  belittle 
the  methods  of  our  forefathers.  Whenever  you  have 
that  inclination,  remember  that  we  can  judge  the  value 
of  systems  only  by  their  results.  In  those  crude  days 
they  accomplished  very  good  results  with  a  spelling-book 
or  a  Latin  grammar  and  a  switch,  both  used  freely. 
Shakespeare  had  no  better  instruction  than  that,  yet  the 


TEACHING.  115 

best  of  our  modern  schools  would  hardly  think  his  name 
a  disgrace  to  its  catalogue. 

The  position  of  teacher  is  of  vastly  more  importance 
now  than  it  formerly  was,  because  teacher  and  pupil  are 
brought  closer  together.  The  modern  teacher  is  the 
pupil's  friend,  whereas  the  ancient  teacher  was  the  pupil's 
tyrant.  The  value  of  such  a  close  relationship  can  hardly 
be  overestimated.  Every  teacher,  particularly  the  teacher 
of  young  pupils,  exerts  an  influence  upon  every  pupil, 
sometimes  more  and  sometimes  less,  that  is  felt  through 
life.  As  the  twig  is  bent  the  tree  will  incline,  and  the 
teacher's  duty  is  to  bend  the  twigs  in  the  'right  direction. 
It  is  a  position  of  wonderful  responsibility,  and  if  you 
think  of  preparing  yourself  for  it  you  should  feel  sure 
in  your  own  mind  that  you  are  fit  for  such  a  great  trust. 
The  teacher's  responsibility  is  greater  than  the  preacher's, 
for  the  preacher  deals  with  adults  who  are  able  to  think 
and  reason  for  themselves,  whereas  the  teacher's  flock 
must  take  things  on  faith.  The  flock  must  believe  in  the 
shepherd,  and  will  believe  in  her.  Why  does  x  +.v2  = 
14  ?  Not  for  any  reason  that  you  can  make  your  young 
pupil  understand,  but  it  is  so  because  you  say  so,  and  he 
believes  it.  A  teacher  who  should  by  any  trifling  act,  a 
smile,  a  sneer,  an  exclamation,  lead  her  young  pupils  to 
suppose  that  she  believed  that  the  crime  in  stealing  lay 
in  being  caught  at  it,  would  do  some  of  those  pupils  an 
injury. that  could  never  be  repaired. 

If  you  think  of  becoming  a  teacher  your  attention  will 
be  fixed  largely  upon  the  salary  you  can  command,  and 
your  chances  of  success.  It  is  necessary  for  you  to 
think  of  these  things,  and  they  need  not  conflict  with  an 
honest  desire  to  benefit  your  pupils  both  morally  and 
mentally.  The  preacher  does  not  preach  for  money,  but 
he  must  have  enough  to  provide  bread  and  butter  and  a 
roof  for  his  family.     The  teacher  has  her  opportunity 


116  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Co  do  good,  but  what  can  she  do  without  proper  food  and 
clothing  ?  In  this  profession  there  is  little  danger  of 
lack  of  such  things  if  you  have  the  ability  for  it,  the 
right  ideals,  and  give  yourself  the  proper  training. 
There  is  always  an  opening  somewhere  for  a  good  teacher, 
and  always  a  demand  for  unusually  good  ones. 

The  natural  qualifications  necessary  to  a  teacher  are 
many  and  high,  but  so  they  are  in  every  good  profession. 
Are  your  health  and  nerves  in  good  order  ?  Your  health 
must  be  at  least  reasonably  good,  as  it  must  be  to  give 
you  a  fair  chance  in  any  profession.  Your  nerves  steady 
and  well  under  control.  The  nervous  teacher  is  always 
in  hot  water,  and  her  pupils  always  restless  and  uncom- 
fortable. We  need  say  nothing  about  strength  and  dex- 
terity, for  you  will  not  be  likely  to  teach  where  strength 
is  a  primary  requisite.  You  have  been  brought  up  differ- 
ently, you  will  bring  others  up  differently,  under  the  far 
better  influence  of  love  and  mutual  respect.  You  know 
nothing  about  such  things  except  by  hearsay,  but  it  is  a 
fact  that  there  are  at  this  very  moment,  and  in  this  very 
country,  schools  in  which  the  new  teacher's  first  neces- 
sity is  to  keep  her  eye  on  the  big  boys  in  the  front  row, 
and  on  the  first  occasion  for  it  to  call  them  out  before 
the  school  and  thrash  them  soundly.  If  she  cannot  do 
it  she  cannot  teach  that  school.  But  if  she  can  do  it 
so  thoroughly  that  in  a  few  days  she  can  send  the  big- 
gest boy  out  to  cut  the  very  switch  he  is  to  be  whipped 
with,  and  has  him  and  his  companions  completely  sub- 
dued, the  trustees  call  her  the  best  teacher  they  ever 
had,  and  make  every  effort  to  keep  her.  If  your  ambi- 
tion pointed  toward  one  of  those  schools  I  could  rec- 
ommend no  better  training  for  you  than  a  course  of  box- 
ing-lessons ;  but  you  will  not  look  in  such  a  direction, 
where  the  surroundings  are  always  rough  and  the  pay 
always  small. 


TEACHING.  117 

Good  health,  and  good  nerves,  then,  and  what  next  ? 
Are  you  naturally  fond  of  children  ?  I  do  not  see  how 
you  can  ever  get  along  in  the  school-room  unless  you 
are.  You  know  very  well  how  differently  different  girls 
treat  their  little  brothers,  without  meaning  any  real 
unkindness.  When  little  Tommy  comes  in  muddy  and 
crying,  one  sister  slaps  him  and  tells  him  to  "  Shut  up, 
you  little  brat ! "  and  another  soothes  him  with  "  Oh, 
poor  boy,  come  here  till  sister  kisses  you  and  makes  it  all 
well."  You  must  be  of  the  soothing  rather  than  the 
slapping  kind.  Are  you  sympathetic,  always  ready  to 
give  aid  and  comfort  to  the  child  in  distress  ?  Have 
you  great  patience  and  perseverance  ?  And  tact  to  carry 
you  successfully  through  all  sorts  of  difficult  places  ? 
Have  you  the  faculty  of  imparting  to  others  what  you 
know  yourself  ?  And  are  you  willing  to  give  up  your 
present  freedom  and  tie  yourself  down  to  the  school- 
room ?  If  you  can  answer  yes  to  all  these  questions, 
and  are  satisfied  that  you  answer  truly,  then  you  have 
also  self-esteem,  some  of  which  is  necessary,  but  not  too 
much.  With  even  a  fair  share  of  these  good  qualities, 
you  may  safely  determine  to  prepare  yourself  for  teach- 
ing. 

Your  salary  must  always  depend  upon  your  ability  in 
great  measure,  and  also  upon  circumstances  that  you  can 
control  to  some  extent,  but  not  entirely.  At  seventeen 
you  cannot  command  as  much  pay  as  you  may  reasonably 
expect  at  twenty-seven.  If  you  are  fitted  only  to  teach 
in  a  primary  school  your  pay  will  be  less  than  if  you 
had  a  position  in  a  high  school.  In  a  small  school  in 
some  country  district  you  may  receive  as  little  as  eight 
dollars  a  week,  but  in  such  places  the  cost  of  living  is 
proportionately  low.  In  a  public  school  in  a  city  you 
may  receive  a  thousand  dollars,  or  one  thousand  two 
hundred  dollars  a  year,  or  even  more.     Under  very  fav- 


118  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   OIELS. 

orable  circumstances,  and  with  unusual  ability,  you  may 
make  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars  a  year.  Then 
you  may  some  day  have  a  large  and  profitable  school  of 
your  own.  But  if  that  day  comes  you  will  not  do  much 
of  the  teaching  yourself,  probably,  and  you  will  need 
business  talents  as  well  as  teaching  ability.  Or  you  may 
have  your  own  little  day  school  for  young  pupils,  in 
which  your  profits  will  depend  upon  your  ability  to  keep 
down  expenses,  and  on  the  number  of  your  pupils,  the 
prices  you  can  charge,  and  the  readiness  of  your  patrons 
to  pay  what  they  owe.  Remember  that  the  moment 
you  open  a  school  of  your  own  you  embark  in  a  business 
venture,  for  which  your  scholarly  attainments  are  not 
enough.  You  will  need  business  sense  also.  Many  an 
excellent  teacher  has  made  a  miserable  failure  when  it 
came  to  managing  her  own  establishment.  Among  a 
hundred  good  business  women  you  could  hardly  expect 
to  find  more  than  a  half-dozen  who  would  make  good 
teachers.  Turn  it  the  other  way,  and  be  sure  that  among 
a  hundred  good  teachers  you  will  not  find  more  than  a 
half-dozen  good  business  women. 

Now  about  the  preparation.  In  one  sense  there  are 
only  two  kinds  of  teachers,  good  and  bad ;  and  as  you 
do  not  wish  to  be  a  bad  one,  there  is  only  one  other 
choice.  But  in  another,  a  broader  sense  there  are  many 
different  kinds  of  teachers,  and  each  variety  requires  a 
training  of  its  own.  You  might  suppose  that  to  fit 
yourself  for  the  best,  the  highest  class  would  fit  you  for 
teaching  of  any  kind,  but  it  is  not  necessarily  so.  Abil- 
ity to  teach  French,  German,  the  piano,  singing,  deport- 
ment, literature,  might  make  you  valuable  in  a  fashion- 
able private  school,  and  yet  be  of  little  use  to  you  in  one 
of  the  large  public  grammar  schools.  The  president  of 
Columbia  University,  I  imagine,  would  make  poor  work  at 
•  teaching  a  kindergarten  class. 


TEACHING.  119 

The  requirements  for  teachers  in  the  public  schools 
differ  in  almost  every  State.  In  many  States  there  are 
normal  schools  specially  for  the  training  of  teachers,  and 
often  the  tuition  is  free  or  nearly  free.  •  Do  you  know  why 
such  a  school  should  be  called  a  normal  school  ?  Look 
it  up  in  the  big  dictionary.  In  the  State  of  New  York 
public-school  teachers  must  have  the  training  and  the 
certificates  required,  as  fixed  by  law,  by  the  Regents  of 
the  University.  Any  of  the  large  schools  will  willingly 
send  you  a  catalogue.  In  the  chapter  on  education  in 
this  volume  you  saw  the  requirements  for  admission  to 
some  of  the  women's  colleges.  By  the  time  you  have 
prepared  yourself  to  pass  one  of  those  examinations,  and 
then  have  gone  on  four  years  longer  to  the  end  of  the 
course,  you  need  hardly  stop  to  ask  the  requirements  for 
a  position  in  a  public  school.  In  some  States  a  diploma 
from  one  of  the  well-known  colleges  is  itself  sufficient. 
In  others  a  graduate  must  pass  an  examination  before 
the  school  authorities,  but  it  is  merely  a  matter  of  form. 
You  do  not  need  to  fear  an  examination  that  you  know 
you  can  pass. 

If  a  collegiate  education  is  within  your  reach,  you  will 
find  it  a  great  advantage,  not  only  for  the  actual 
knowledge  acquired,  but  for  other  reasons.  Most  people 
think  a  great  deal  of  a  collegiate  education,  and  you  must 
pay  some  attention  to  public  opinion.  When  public 
opinion  asserts  that  a  school  teacher  should  be  a  college 
graduate  it  is  better  for  the  teacher's  own  sake  that  she 
should  be.  Something  that  gives  possible  employers  a 
favorable  opinion  of  you  from  the  start  is  of  course  more 
advantageous  than  anything  that  gives  them  an  unfavor- 
able opinion  of  you  —  if  you  have  good  appearance  — 
by  which  I  do  not  mean  a  pretty  face,  but  if  you  are 
neat  and  tidy  and  look  as  if  you  know  something,  and 
have  the  knack  of   talking  to  a  stranger  without  either 


120  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

snapping  at  him  or  fawning  upon  him  —  and  can  say 
your  say  without  too  many  words.  The  first  impression 
you  will  make  upon  a  school  trustee  or  school  board  is 
far  more  likely  to  be  a  good  one  if  you  can  tell  him  truly 
that  you  are  a  graduate  of  one  of  the  better-known 
women's  colleges.  And  having  begun  to  look  at  the  use 
of  human  nature  as  a  factor  in  a  teacher's  success,  I 
may  as  well  tell  you  in  plain  words  that  there  are  certain 
weak  spots  in  human  nature  that  you  must  take  advan- 
tage of,  or  rather  that  you  must  make  use  of  whenever 
you  honestly  can.  One  of  those  weak  spots  is  veneration 
for  a  collegiate  education.  Yes,  that  is  a  weak  spot, 
though  you  may  at  first  exclaim  against  such  a  term  for 
it.  You  will  see  that  it  is  a  weak  spot  when  you  con- 
sider that  the  less  a  man  knows  about  colleges  the 
greater  veneration  he  has  for  them.  A  man  must  know 
more  than  the  average  school  trustee  —  the  average  trus- 
tee, mind  —  before  he  can  appreciate  the  fact  that  a  col- 
lege diploma  is  not  positive  evidence  of  vast  learning. 
It  is  enough  for  you  to  know  that  the  school  trustees 
generally  have  great  regard  for  college  diplomas  for 
teachers,  to  show  you  that  for  purposes  of  advancement, 
as  well  as  for  other  reasons,  such  a  diploma  is  a  good 
thing  for  a  teacher  to  have.  If  most  school  boards  were 
convinced  that  floriculture  was  a  necessary  acquirement 
for  teachers  it  would  be  good  policy  for  the  young 
teachers  to  go  into  the  garden  and  learn  to  cultivate 
flowers.  You  must  not  expect  the  employers  who  are  to 
judge  of  your  qualifications  as  a  teacher  to  be  highly 
educated  men.  In  the  large  cities  they  sometimes  are, 
but  in  small  places  they  generally  are  not.  They  are 
elected  by  the  people,  and  the  man  who  can  command 
the  most  votes  for  the  office  becomes  a  school  trustee, 
without  special  regard  to  his  fitness  for  the  position. 
County  superintendents  generally  are  above  the  average 


TEACHING.  121 

of  intelligence,  bnt  not  so  the  trustees  who  select  the 
teachers  for  their  own  schools.  In  the  pamphlet  of  the 
New  York  Normal  College,  about  which  I  shall  have 
more  to  say  presently,  I  find  the  undeniable  assertion 
that  "  with  rare  exceptions  the  ordinary  school  official, 
unless  he  has  been  a  teacher,  is  but  an  indifferent  judge 
of  a  teacher,  especially  if  she  be  a  beginner.  He  is  apt 
to  be  deceived  by  a  fluent  talker,  mistaking  talking  for 
teaching;  his  judgment  is  not  infrequently  influenced 
by  a  fine  appearance  and  a  good  address ;  and  yet  the 
young  woman  possessing  these  externals  may  have  no 
aptitude  for  instruction  or  respect  fof  her  profession. 
Sympathy,  directed  by  judgment,  the  power  to  govern 
without  seeming  to  govern,  the  ability  to  inspire  by 
personal  magnetism,  the  dignity  of  bearing  which  is  the 
result  of  mental  and  bodily  health  ■ —  these  are  the  funda- 
mental qualifications  of  a  teacher  of  the  highest  order 
which  could  only  have  been  attained  by  superior  mental 
training,  and  by  that  moral  culture  which  imparts  a 
strong  will  and  an  enlightened  conscience.  This  is  the 
ideal  teacher  whom  it  may  be  difficult  to  produce  out  of 
some  of  the  raw  material  which  enters  our  colleges. 
Nevertheless,  every  educator  who  is  true  to  his  work 
must  form  his  ideal  of  what  is  best." 

I  cannot  quote  from  a  higher  authority  for  the  intend- 
ing teacher  than  from  one  of  these  reports  of  the  Normal 
College,  which  is  presided  over  by  Dr.  Thomas  Hunter, 
and  in  which  so  many  of  the  teachers  of  the  New  York 
public  schools  are  prepared.  It  is  a  free  institution, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  Regents  of  the  University 
of  the  State  of  New  York  ;  and  the  following  full  account 
of  it  and  its  studies  and  requirements  will  give  a  good 
idea  of  the  training  necessary  for  teachers  in  the  public 
schools  of  New  York  City  : 


122  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

THE   NEW   YORK   NORMAL   COLLEGE. 

The  number  of  students  attending  the  college  at  the  close  of  the 
year  was  two  thousand  five  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  the 
number  of  pupils  in  the  training  department  was  one  thousand  and 
thirty,  making  a  total  of  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  seven- 
teen. 

The  number  of  students  admitted  at  the  competitive  examina- 
tion last  June  was  seven  hundred  and  forty-three,  of  whom  sixty- 
eight  came  mainly  from  the  parochial  schools.  The  examination 
was  severe  and  the  candidates  acquitted  themselves  with  credit. 
In  all  the  branches  of  a  sound,  common  English  education,  that  is 
to  say,  in  English  Grammar,  Composition,  Spelling,  the  entire 
Arithmetic,  Drawing,  Geography  of  the  world,  and  History  of 
the  United  States,  those  admitted  proved  that  they  had  been  thor- 
oughly instructed.  The  rigid  entrance  examination  has  the  effect 
of  bringing  to  the  college  students  considerably  above  the  minimum 
age  required  by  law,  and  thereby  securing  the  physical  and  mental 
maturity  so  necessary  to  qualify  them  to  grapple  with  the  higher 
studies.  As  they  are  promoted  as  well  as  admitted  by  strict  exam- 
ination, they  can  accomplish  as  much  in  two  years  as  the  students 
of  the  ordinary  high  school  (in  which  examinations  are  not  com- 
petitive) can  accomplish  in  three  years.  As  our  students  are  the 
teacher-cadets  of  the  city,  it  becomes  our  duty  to  shut  out  the 
weak  and  incompetent  and,  for  the  benefit  of  the  educational 
system,  furnish  the  strongest  and  most  efficient.  I  believe  that 
this  end  can  only  be  effected  by  means  of  examination. 

When  in  1870  the  Normal  College  was  established,  the  move- 
ment for  the  higher  education  of  women  had  just  begun.  In  Mas- 
sachusetts, New  York,  and  in  some  of  the  Western  States  a  few 
institutions  existed  intermediate  between  the  college  and  the  high 
school,  in  which  women  were  well  educated  and  trained  for  supe- 
rior work.  Able  women  had  to  fight  their  way  in  the  face  of  fierce 
opposition  for  admission  into  colleges  for  men,  for  co-education  (as 
it  is  called),  and  for  the  establishment  of  separate  colleges  for  them- 
selves. Although  the  law  that  established  the  College  of  the  City 
of  New  York  (as  the  Free  Academy)  gave  the  Board  of  Education 
power  to  found  one  or  more  similar  institutions  for  girls,  such  was 
the  indifference  or  hostility  to  the  advanced  education  of  women 
that  it  was  not  until  twenty-two  years  had  elapsed  that  the  State 
law  was  carried  into  effect.     And  even  then  the  Board  limited  the 


TEACHING.  123 

course  of  instruction  to  three  years,  for  that  short  period  was  the 
utmost  the  public  would  permit  at  that  time.  In  1879  the  Board, 
after  much  hesitation,  raised  the  course  to  four  years,  and  again, 
in  1888,  to  five  years  for  the  Academic  Department.  Even  then 
there  was  difficulty  in  making  these  changes,  because  many  per- 
sons desired  their  daughters  to  be  in  a  position  to  earn  money  at 
an  early  age.  But  the  question  was  much  simplified  at  that  time 
by  the  fact  that  the  supply  of  teachers  exceeded  the  demand.  The 
Board  of  Education  of  that  day  kept  faith  with  those  students  who 
had  been  admitted  prior  to  the  passage  of  the  law  extending  the 
course  to  four  years  by  graduating  them  at  the  end  of  three  years. 
It  had,  however,  warned  the  candidates  of  1879  that  they  would  be 
required  to  pursue  the  four  years'  course.  Hence,  in  1882  there 
were  no  graduates  except  a  small  post-graduate  class  of  thirty 
students  who  had  volunteered  to  remain  another  year.  The  effect 
of  this  change  was  the  reduction  of  the  number  of  graduates  from 
three  hundred  and  sixty-one  in  1880  to  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
nine  in  1883.  It  took  ten  years,  until  1890,  to  enable  us  to  increase 
the  number  of  graduates  to  what  it  was  before  the  change.  The 
proposed  extension  of  the  time,  even  to  the  minimum  asked  for, 
must  inevitably  reduce  the  number  of  graduate  teachers.  Remem- 
bering the  difficulties  of  1879,  the  Board  took  care  to  make  the 
second  change,  that  of  1888,  simple  and  easy.  It  gave  the  students, 
through  their  parents,  the  privilege  of  choosing  either  the  four  or 
the  five  years'  course.  Foreseeing  the  extension  of  time,  as  at 
present  required,  the  President  warned  the  students  admitted  in 
1898  and  1899  that  it  was  more  than  probable  that  the  course  of 
study  would  be  extended  one  or  two  years.  "With  this  understand- 
ing they  could  enter  the  college  or  not,  as  they  pleased. 

At  present  there  is  a  very  great  demand  for  teachers,  which  is 
likely  to  continue  for  two  or  three  years.  When,  however,  the 
school  accommodations  shall  have  overtaken  the  increased  popula- 
tion, and  when  the  supply  of  teachers  shall  have  equalled  or  sur- 
passed the  demand,  the  extension  of  time  can  be  made  without 
detriment  to  the  educational  system. 

The  new  course  of  study  is  by  no  means  perfect.  It  was  the 
best,  however,  that  the  legal  and  other  requirements  would  permit. 
To  the  study  of  English  throughout  the  whole  course,  to  Latin 
during  the  first  three  years,  and  to  Ancient  and  Modern  History 
much  more  time  has  been  allowed.  Civics  and  the  intensive  study 
of  United  States  History  have  received,  for  the  first  time,  an  im- 


124  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

portant  place  in  the  curriculum.  The  more  extended  study  of 
these  branches  will  greatly  assist  the  young  teacher.  The  study 
of  English  in  particular  is  most  essential,  because  we  have  found 
many  of  our  students  who  passed  an  excellent  examination  in 
Grammar  violating  the  ordinary  rules  of  syntax  —  a  fact  which 
goes  to  prove  that  the  study  of  Grammar  does  not  make  young 
people  "  speak  and  write  with  propriety."  The  language  of  the 
student's  home  will  mould  his  speech  in  spite  of  all  the  grammars 
ever  written.  But  even  worse  than  bad  syntax  is  the  pronunciation 
of  certain  words.  The  r  is  frequently  misused :  omitted  when  it 
should  be  retained,  and  added  to  the  end  of  a  word  where  it  has  no 
earthly  right  to  be.  The  additional  time  for  instruction  in  English 
composition  and  in  Latin  translation  must  necessarily  overcome 
the  incorrect  habits  of  speech,  no  matter  where  or  how  acquired. 
Of  course  the  majority  of  the  students  speak  and  write  fair  English, 
but  it  so  happens  that  the  minority  who  do  not  are  the  most  anxious 
to  become  teachers  —  to  become  bread-winners. 

More  time  has  also  been  given  to  the  natural  sciences.  Physi- 
cal Geography  and  the  study  of  Vertebrates  have  been  assigned  a 
place  for  the  first  time  in  the  new  curriculum  for  the  students  of 
the  first  year.  Botany  and  Physiology  remain,  as  heretofore,  re- 
spectively in  the  second  and  third  years.  Zoology  and  Geology 
are  continued  in  the  fourth  and  fifth  years.  There  are  now  five 
laboratories  equipped  for  individual  work.  But  I  regret  to  say 
that  their  usefulness  is  in  some  degree  lessened  by  excessive  num- 
bers in  some  of  the  classes. 

More  time  has  been  given  to  drawing  during  the  first  three  years. 
It  was  thought  better  to  concentrate  the  work  and  prepare  the  stu- 
dents in  the  fourth  year  for  normal  instruction  with  the  view  of 
supplying  Drawing  Teachers  for  the  public  schools.  Our  aim  has 
never  been  to  teach  art ;  it  has  been  simply  to  give  the  ordinary 
class  teacher  the  power  to  illustrate  on  the  blackboard.  If  a  genius 
for  art,  however,  is  discovered,  so  much  the  better  for  the  student. 

The  chief  defect  in  the  new  course  of  study  is  the  elimination  of 
Latin  and  French  or  German  from  the  Normal'  Senior  Class. 
When  constructing  the  programme  of  work  for  the  year  I  thought 
of  preserving  the  study  of  two  languages  in  addition  to  English  by 
making  the  instruction  normal  for  the  purpose  of  training  teachers 
of  French  or  German  for  the  public  schools  ;  but  after  a  little  re- 
flection I  concluded  that  such  action  might  be  construed  into  an 
evasion  of  the  legal  requirements.     Perhaps  the  best  way  to  secure 


TEACHING.  125 

the  repeal  of  a  bad  law  is  to  rigidly  enforce  it.  A  period  of  two 
years  devoted  exclusively  to  pedagogics  is  apt  to  create  disgust  for 
the  subject,  is  certainly  a  misuse  of  valuable  time,  and  has  a  ten- 
dency to  narrow  the  intellect.  Any  intelligent  young  woman  can 
master  the  History  of  Education  in  two  or  three  months  ;  the  Princi- 
ples of  Teaching  are  few,  simple,  and  easily  comprehended;  and  the 
Psychology  on  which  these  Principles  are  based  need  not  be  diffi- 
cult. Some  educational  leaders  have  made  things  hard  and  obscure 
which  are  in  themselves  easy  and  clear.  These  people  are  always 
inclined  to  split  hairs  on  non-essentials.  I  am  decidedly  of  the 
opinion  that  a  pupil-teacher,  provided  she  has  a  good  education 
before  she  begins  her  professional  studies,  can  readily  acquire  the 
necessary  knowledge  of  pedagogics  during  a  period  of  thirty-eight 
weeks.  And  this  is  all  that  is  demanded  for  it  by  the  law  of  1895. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  Board  of  Trustees  will  find  some  way  to 
reduce  the  amount  of  time  that  must  now  be  devoted  to  pedagogi- 
cal study  in  order  that  we  may  give  more  time  to  the  study  of 
language. 

The  Instructor  of  Physical  Exercises  has  accomplished  an  ex- 
cellent work  in  improving  the  bodily  health  of  the  students.  By 
her  system  of  teaching  she  has  squared  rounded  shoulders,  straight- 
ened spinal  columns,  and  compelled  the  girls  to  stand,  walk,  and 
march  in  a  proper  manner ;  she  has  brought  into  healthy  action 
every  muscle  of  the  body  without  the  overstrain  which  is  so  often 
the  curse  of  physical  training.  The  instructor,  in  her  own  person, 
is  an  object  lesson  for  the  students. 

For  the  purpose  of  creating  and  fostering  a  desire  for  study,  the 
Faculty  instituted  a  plan  of  instruction  for  the  Normal  graduates, 
which  would  enable  them  to  reach,  if  not  to  surpass,  the  gradu- 
ates of  the  Academic  Department.  Examinations  have  been 
provided  for  twice  a  year,  in  May  and  December,  so  that  young 
women  may  obtain  credit  for  such  branches  as  they  may  have 
mastered.     Of  course  these  lectures  are  entirely  free. 

I  cannot  speak  in  too  high  terms  of  the  fine  discipline  manifested 
by  the  recent  admissions  from  the  public  schools.  The  students 
fall  into  line  like  veterans,  and  quickly  acquire  habits  of  self-gov- 
ernment, which  is  the  foundation  of  the  best  order.  It  is  not  the 
order  from  without  which  "  reigns  in  Warsaw,"  but  the  order  from 
within,  which  gradually  evolves  good  conduct  and  high  character, 
and  this  is  far  more  important  than  intellectual  attainments.  I 
assume  responsibility  for  the  students'  behavior  from  the  time  they 


126  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

leave  their  homes  until  they  return  in  the  afternoon.  Except  by 
special  permission,  and  under  fixed  conditions,  no  student  is  per- 
mitted to  remain  in  the  building  after  two  o'clock.  The  reasons 
for  this  rule  are  obvious.  The  Superintendent  and  Professor  of 
Ethics  is  most  vigilant  and  energetic  in  guarding  the  morals  and 
manners  of  the  girls  ;  and  yet,  in  spite  of  the  vast  number  of  stu- 
dents, she  has  found  time  to  instruct  the  Senior  Academic  Class  in 
her  own  subject  of  study. 

Thos.  Hunter, 

President. 
Departments  of  Instruction. 

The  Department  of  English  shall  include  Literature,  Composi- 
tion, Rhetoric,  History,  and  Political  Economy. 

The  Department  of  Ancient  Languages  shall  include  Latin  and 
Greek. 

The  Department  of  Modern  Languages  shall  include  French  and 
German. 

The  Department  of  Mathematics  shall  include  Algebra,  Element- 
ary Geometry,  Trigonometry,  Analytical  Geometry,  and  Calculus. 

The  Department  of  Natural  Science  shall  include  Biology,  Physi- 
ology, Physical  Geography,  and  Geology. 

The  Department  of  Physical  Science  shall  include  Chemistry, 
Natural  Philosophy,  and  Astronomy. 

The  Department  of  Mental  Science  shall  include  Psychology, 
Logic,  and  History  of  Philosophy. 

The  Department  of  Pedagogy  shall  include  the  History,  Science, 
and  Art  of  Manual,  Intellectual,  and  Moral  Teaching,  of  School 
Government,  and  of  School  Discipline. 

The  Department  of  Music  shall  include  Chorus  Singing,  the 
Science  of  Music,  and  the  Art  of  Teaching  Music. 

Drawing. 

Instruction  in  drawing  shall  be  limited  to  the  first  three  years  of 
the  course.  The  lessons  shall  be  of  such  a  nature  as  to  enable 
teachers  to  illustrate  on  the  blackboard  with  ease  and  facility,  and 
to  cultivate  the  eye  and  hand  with  the  view  of  preparing  pupils  for 
industrial  pursuits.  There  shall  also  be  instruction  in  modelling 
during  the  second  and  third  years. 

During  the  Freshman  year  Perspective  shall  be  taught  with  the 
special  view  of  illustrating  solid  Geometry. 


TEACHING.  127 

•  Music. 

Class-room  instruction  in  music  shall  be  limited  to  the  first  three 
years  of  the  course.  Pedagogical  instruction  shall  also  be  given  to 
pupil-teachers. 


128 


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132  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


REQUIREMENTS    ENUMERATED   BY    THE    SUPERINTENDENT    OF   PUBLIC 
INSTRUCTION    OF    THE    STATE    OF   NEW   YORK,    AND    PRE- 
SCRIBED     FOR     THE       COURSE       OF      PROFESSIONAL 
TRAINING  IN  INSTITUTIONS  APPROVED  BY  HIM. 


r  Psychology  and  Principles  of  Education 90 

i  History  of  Education 30 

*•  School  Management 20 

i  Methods  in  Mathematics 40' 
Methods  in  Natural  Science  (Plants,  Animals, 
and  Minerals)  and   in    Physiology    and  Hy- 
giene   , 40 

! Methods  of  teaching  Geography 30  f  180  hours 
Methods  of  Teaching,  Reading,  Spelling,  and 
Phonics * 30 
Methods  of  Teaching  Language,  Composition, 
and  Grammar 40; 


'Methods  in  Form-Study  and  Drawing 40" 

Methods  in  Music 20 

Physical  Culture,  with  Methods 40 

Intensive  study  of   a  Period  of   United  States 

[      History ;  Civics  ;  and  School  Law 30 


130  hours 


450  hours 


This  outline  of  the  work  of  the  Normal  College  of 
New  York  shows  briefly  what  is  required  of  teachers  in 
the  New  York  public  schools,  and  the  time  required  in 
the  training.  It  is  a  long  course,  full  of  hard  work,  but 
it  gives"  excellent  results,  and  produces  teachers  thor- 
oughly equipped  for  their  duties. 

The  kindergarten  offers  an  interesting  and  profitable 
field  for  teachers  of  young  children.  A  shorter  course 
of  training  is  required  for  this  work,  covering  in  most 
cases  two  years.  The  number  of  schools  in  which  kinder- 
garten work  is  taught  to  teachers  and  others  is  very  large, 
in  this  and  other  countries ;  and  the  schedule  of  the 
Pratt  Institute  school  in  this  branch  is  here  given  as  an 
example  selected  from  among  the  best. 


TEACHING. 


133 


PRATT  INSTITUTE, 

DEPARTMENT  OF  KINDERGARTENS. 
The  aim  of  the  Kindergarten  Department  is  to  give  training  in 
Froebel's  methods  to  those  who  are  to  have  the  care  of  children, 
and  to  further  in  every  way  the  study  of  child-nature,  in  order  to 
gain  a  truer  and  deeper  insight  into  its  needs.  Its  primary  concern, 
however,  is  to  give  a  theoretical  and  practical  training  to  kinder- 
gartners.     For  this  the  Normal  Course  is  provided. 

'  Theory  and  practice  of  the  Kindergarten, 
together  with  drawing,  music,  science, 
psychology,  history  of  education,  and 
physical  training. 


Normal  Course 


Same  as  Normal  Course,  but  without 
practice  in  Kindergarten.  No  diploma 
^given. 

Froebel's  "  Mother-play  ;  "  "  Education, 
of  Man ;  "  Gifts,  Games,  Science, 
Stories,  Psychology ;  elementary 
courses  in  manual  training  and  do- 
mestic science. 

Lectures  and  study  of  Froebel's  Theory. 
Use  of  Kindergarten  material,  songs, 
stories,  and  games. 

Study  of  Froebel's  Songs  and  Games, 
use  of  clay,  sand,  paper-cutting, 
stories,  nature-work,  and  basket- 
weaving. 

J  Kindergarten  and  Connecting  Class  for 
I      children. 

Students  practise  in  the  Kindergarten  named  above  and  in  the 
free  Kindergartens  of  the  city. 


General  Course 


Special  and  Graduate 
Courses  (Kindergart- 
ners  and  Teachers), 


Mothers'  Course 


Nurses'  Course 


Kindergarten  . 


GENERAL     INFORMATION. 


Equipment.  —  The  Department  of  Kindergartens  has  unusual 
facilities  for  carrying  on  its  work,  a  complete  equipment,  and  im- 
mediate connection  with  the  other  Department  of  the  Institute, 


134  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

from  which  it  derives  its  special  instructors,  and  to  which  it  has 
access  for  special  work. 

Lectures. —  All  lectures  of  the  Institute  are  open  to  students  of 
the  department;  and,  as  a  part  of  the  course,  special  lectures 
are  given  upon  subjects  directly  pertaining  to  the  work  of  the 
Kindergarten. 

Entrance  Requirements. —  For  the  Normal  Course,  a  prepara- 
tory training  is  necessary,  of  which  a  high-school  diploma  repre- 
sents the  general  standard.  As  most  of  the  plays  of  the  Kinder- 
garten are  accompanied  by  singing,  it  is  necessary  for  those  who 
would  become  kindergartners  to  be  able  to  sing  and  play  simple 
music.  Added  culture  of  any  kind  makes  the  course  seem  richer 
and  the  future  success  of  the  kindergartner  more  assured.  Stu- 
dents must  be  at  least  eighteen  years  of  age. 

Entrance  Examinations. — No  entrance  examinations  are  re- 
quired for  mothers,  nurses,  or  special  students. 

The  examinations  are  not  the  final  test.  Character  and  culture 
are  as  essential  as  technical  acquirements ;  and  the  Department 
therefore  reserves  the  right  of  selection  and  decision  in  each  case. 
The  entrance  examinations  define  the  necessary  preparation  of  the 
kindergartner.  Three  months'  probation  is  required,  after  which 
any  student  proving  her  inaptitude  for  the  work  must  withdraw 
from  the  class. 

Diplomas  are  awarded  for  successful  completion  of  the  Normal 
Course;  certificates  for  the  completion  of  the  Mothers'  Course. 
All  graduates  from  other  training  schools  who  wish  to  take  the 
Pratt  Institute  diploma  must  enter  the  course  under  the  rules 
which  apply  to  other  students.  If  such  persons  present  work  of 
equal  excellence  with  that  required,  it  will  be  accepted  as  equiva- 
lent to  similar  work  in  the  course. 


NORMAL    COURSE. 
FIVE    DATS   BACH  WEEK  —  TWO  TEARS. 

First   Year. 

{Froebel's  Mutter-  und  Kose-Lieder.  The 
application  of  its  principles  to  the  gifts, 
games,  and  occupations. 

Gifts     ...  .      Practical  work  and  theory. 


Occupations 


Stories     .     .     .     .   / 


TEACHING.  135 

'Pricking,  Froebel  drawing,   sewing,  inter- 
twining, weaving,  folding,  parquetry,  cut- 
ting,   peas-work,  modelling  in  cardboard 
and  clay ;  color  and  form  work. 
Practice  in  telling  and  in  writing  Kinder- 
garten stories. 
Kindergarten  Games  and  Physical  Training. 
History  of  Education. 

-^  f  Form  study,  elementary  freehand  drawing, 

Drawing  .     .     .     .    <  J\ 

I      blackboard  drawing. 

„  t  Fundamental  principles  of  biology,  botany, 

\     and  zoology. 
M  t  Voice-culture  and  practice  in  Kindergarten 

\     music. 
T  t  On  Literature,  Art,  and  general  Kindergar- 

X     ten  subjects. 
Observation  and  Practice  in  Kindergarten — Six  months. 


Second   Year. 

Advanced  Work  in  c  Mutter-  und  Kose-Lieder  completed.     *•  Ed- 

Theory.  \     ucation  of  Man,"  and  Frobel's  Pedagogics. 

Gifts  and  Occupa-  r  Their  practical   application   to  the  Kinder- 

tions  Completed.    \      garten, 

t»  ttt  f  Correlation  of  subjects  of  the  course  and  the 

Programme  Work.    1  m  *      -        ,    _.    , 

I     working  out  of  a  plan  for  the  Kindergarten . 

«  r  Study  of  myths  and  other  literature.     Orig- 

in    inal  and  typical  stories. 

Kindergarten  Games  and  Physical  Training. 

yv  c  Freehand  drawing  from  objects  and  simple 

\      casts  ;  sketching,  color,  and  design. 

Science  r  Mineralogy,  biology,   physiology,  physical 

\      care  of  children. 

Music        ....       Voice-culture ;  sight-reading. 

p  t  Three  to  four  months'  practice  and  observa- 

\     tion,  as  found  individually  necessary. 

The  course  here  outlined  covers  two  years  of  thorough  work. 
While  the  important  place  is  given  to   the  Kindergarten  proper, 


136  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

special  attention  is  also  paid  to  those  additional  subjects  which  are 
necessary  to  the  completion  of  a  broad  Normal  training. 

'    .  GENERAL    COURSE. 

FIVE  DAYS  EACH  WEEK  —  ONE  TEAR. 

Many  persons  who  do  not  wish  to  become  practical  kindergart- 
ners  desire  to  take  the  Kindergarten  Course.  To  these  the  Gen- 
eral Course  is  open.  This  is  the  same  as  the  first  year  of  the 
Normal  Course,  with  the  omission  of  practice  in  Kindergartens. 
No  diploma  is  given. 

Any  student  of  this  class  may  become  a  regular  member  of  the 
Normal  Course  by  meeting  the  requirements. 

SPECIAL    COURSES. 

Special  courses  are  given  in  Eroebel's  ' '  Mother-play ;  "  "Edu- 
cation of  Man ; "  Gifts,  Games,  Handwork,  Science,  Drawing, 
Music,  Stories,  History  of  Education,  and  Psychology.  These 
are  open  to  graduate  kindergartners  and  teachers.  Only  two  sub- 
jects may  be  taken  during  one  term. 

GRADUATE    COURSES. 

The  graduate  courses  include  those  subjects  which  add  to  the 
culture  of  the  kindergartner  and  have  been  found  helpful  in  her 
work. 

In  addition  to  the  special  Kindergarten  courses,  the  following 
subjects  will  be  given  in  the  several  departments  by  the  Institute 
instructors  :  elementary  wood-working ;  sewing ;  cooking ;  hygiene 
and  home  nursing. 

mothers'  course. 

two  hours  a  week— two  years. 

This  course  enables  mothers  to  gain  an  understanding  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Kindergarten,  and  to  learn  how  these  may  be  applied 
in  their  homes. 

The  work  of  the  first  year  is  especially  adapted  to  mothers  of 
young  children. 


TEACHING.  137 

LESSONS  GIVEN  DURING  THE  COURSE. 
Theory. 
(Based  on  the  Mutter-  und  Kose-Lieder.) 
The  instinct   of    activity,    and     First  steps  in  thinking. 

how  to  meet  it.  How  to  train  the  senses. 

First     experiences,    and    what     Law  and  order. 

they  mean  to  the  child.  The  home. 

Processes  in  growth.  The  beginnings  of  language. 

The  child's  relation  to  animals     Working  and  doing. 

and  the  outside  world.  Family  life. 

How  the  child  may  attain  true     The  beginning  of  number. 

freedom.  The  development  of  the  musical 

The  law  of  compensation.  nature. 

The  value  of  each  individual.        God's  relationship  to  the  child. 
The  mother's  love.  Study  of  Froebel's  song,  M  Retro- 

The  father's  part.  spection." 

The  instinct  of  imitation  and  its 

value. 

In  the  second  year  the  study  of  the  "  Mother-play"  is  continued, 
and  that  of  the  "  Education  of  Man  "  begun. 

Practice. 

PRACTICAL  WORK  IN  GIFTS,   GAMES,   OCCUPATIONS,  AND   STORIES. 

First  Gift;  activity,  color,  and     Second  Gift;  simple  games. 

form.  Wooden    beads ;    form,   number, 

Plays  and  Songs.  color. 

Use  of  Sand  and  Clay.  '  Typical   stories    for  young    chil- 

Simple    Rhymes    and    Finger-        dren. 

plays.  Paper-cutting  and  tearing. 

How    to    celebrate   Thanksgiving   Day,    Christmas,    Washington's 
Birthday,  and  Easter. 

nurses'  course. 

It  is  not  possible  for  the  mother  always  to  have  the  care  of  her 
children,  however  devoted  she  may  be.  It  is  therefore  most  impor- 
tant that  her  helper  should  be  in  sympathy  with  her  methods,  and 
be  quick  to  carry  out  suggestions  with  the  children. 

In  some  cases  the  nurse's  responsibility  seems  as  great  as  the 
mother's,  and  her  desire  for  help  even  greater.     When  her  needs 


138  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS  GIELS. 

are  met  she  is  usually  quick  to  recognize  the  fact,  and  is  grateful 
for  any  knowledge  of  the  child  that  she  may  receive. 

This  course  of  training  aims  to  give  such  an  understanding  of 
Froebel's  principles  that  the  nurse  shall  realize  the  dignity  and 
importance  of  her  office,  shall  be  able  to  simplify  her  work,  and 
shall  also  make  of  play  the  happy,  living  thing  it  ought  to  be. 

The  "  Mother-Play  Book"  is  studied,  and  many  illustrations  of 
its  methods  are  given,  together  with  the  Kindergarten  work  in  gifts, 
games,  occupations,  songs,  and  stories. 

The  course  is  planned  each  year  for  two  terms.  The  first  term 
opens  in  October,  and  the  class  meets  one  evening  each  week  until 
Christmas ;  the  second  term  begins  in  January  and  continues  for 
twelve  weeks. 

Typical  Lessons. 
Leaves  and  leaf-cutting.  Simple     drawing,    leaves    and 

Sand  and  shells,  and  how  to  play         flowers ;  color-work. 

with  them.  Clay-modelling. 

Fall  songs,  walks,  and  stories.       Cardboard  furniture. 
Games.  Children's  playthings. 

Stringing  seeds  and  beads.  Paper-weaving;   rattan   basket- 

making. 

I  '11  tell  you  how  I  got  on.  I  kept  my  eyes  and  ears  open,  and 
I  made  my  master's  interest  my  own.  —  George  Eliot. 


BO  ADS   TO   SUCCESS  IN   THE  SCHOOL-MOOM.     139 


CHAPTER    X. 

ROADS     TO    SUCCESS    IN    THE    SCHOOL-ROOM. 

The  teacher  is  like   a  candle  which  lights  others   in 
consuming  itself.  —  Ruffini. 

I  am   indebted   to   my   father  for  living,  but   to   my 
teacher  for  living  well. —  Alexander  the  Great. 

I  command   that   no   one  shall   set   himself  up  as   a 
teacher  until  he  is  fitted  for  it.  —  Emperor  Julian. 

No  person  can  estimate  the  power  for  good  exercised 
by  the  teachers  of  a  country.  —  Dr.  Agnew. 

Teach  well,  live  well.  —  Dr.  Plummer. 

On  good  teachers  depends  a  nation's  safety.  —  Hoyt. 

The  teacher  should  be  a  living  lesson  to  the  scholar. — 


Education  of  youth  is  not  a  bow  for  every  man  to 
shoot  in  that  counts  himself  a  teacher  ;  but  will  require 
sinews  almost  equal  to  those  which  Homer  gave  to 
Ulysses.  —  Milton. 

It  is  one  of  the  commonest  of  mistakes  to  estimate  the 
influence  of  a  public  teacher  by  the  number  of  his  fol- 
lowers. —  Wells. 


140  HELPS    FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Teaching  is  a  laborious,  self-sacrificing  life,  but  it  is 
not,  as  has  been  too  often  said,  a  thankless  one ;  if  you 
go  into  it  rightly,  if  you  make  it  your  passion,  if  you 
blind  your  mind  from  day  to  day  to  what  may  be  called 
the  drudgery  of  the  profes3ion,suff ering  not  your  energies 
to  flag,  shrinking  not  from  toil,  you  will  most  assuredly 
find  your  task  a  becoming  delight ;  you  will  reap  your 
rewards,  not  the  least  of  which  will  be  that  you  will  keep 
your  own  feelings  ever  fresh,  ever  young,  and  happy.  — ' 
Kate  Montgomerie. 

The  severest  censure  of  our  school  system  often  comes 
from  those  who,  in  acknowledged  ignorance  of  the  schools 
of  to-day,  speak  from  the  memories  of  their  own  expe- 
rience of  a  generation  ago,  seemingly  all  unconscious  of 
the  fact  that  the  school  has  kept  fully  abreast  of  the  ad- 
vance in  other  departments  of  social  and  moral  progress, 
of  which  their  own  charges,  if  rightfully  regarded,  would 
afford  the  most  conclusive  proof.  —  "  Practical  Hints  for 
the  Teachers  of  Public  Schools ,"  by  George  Rowland. 

The  best  teachers  have  been  the  readiest  to  recognize 
the  importance  of  self-culture,  and  of  stimulating  the 
student  to  acquire  knowledge  by  the  active  exercise  of 
his  own  faculties  ;  they  have  relied  more  upon  training 
than  upon  telling,  and  sought  to  make  their  pupils  them- 
selves active  parties  to  the  work  in  which  they  were  en- 
gaged —  thus  making  teaching  something  far  higher  than 
the  mere  passive  reception  of  the  scraps  and  details  of 
knowledge.  —  Smiles. 

Teachers  should  be  held  in  the  highest  honor.  They 
are  the  allies  of  legislators  ;  they  have  agency  in  the  pre- 
vention of  crime ;  they  aid  in  regulating  the  atmosphere, 
whose  incessant  action  and  pressure  cause  the  life-blood 
to  circulate,  and  to  return  pure  and  healthful  to  the  heart 
of  the  nation.  —  Mrs.  Sigourney. 


ROADS    TO   SUCCESS  IN  THE  SCHOOL-ROOM.     141 

The  profession  of  the  teacher  is  the  noblest  of  all  pro- 
fessions. —  Agassiz. 

It  is  the  teacher  who  decides  the  character  of  the  next 
generation.  —  Pickett. 

Nowhere,  as  in  the  well-directed  school,  is  the  spirit 
developed  that  regards  character  above  surroundings, 
where  merit  is  rewarded  with  success,  and  honor  be- 
stowed where  it  is  due  ;  and  never,  We  believe,  have  our 
schools  had  a  healthier  influence,  never  made  more 
earnest  and  successful  endeavor  for  uprightness  of  pur- 
pose, or  been  surrounded  or  pervaded  by  a  purer  or  more 
life-giving  atmosphere.  —  George  Howland. 

The  teacher  is  a  power  in  proportion  to  the  intelli- 
gence, skill,  and  fidelity  with  which  the  pupil  is  edu- 
cated. —  Bulkley. 

As  a  gardener  sorts  his  plants,  so  should  a  teacher 
arrange  his  scholars,  according  to  their  habits  and  capac- 
ities. —  Tsze-hea. 

If  I  were  not  a  preacher,  I  know  of  no  profession  on 
earth  of  which  I  should  be  fonder  than  that  of  a  teacher. 
—  Luther. 

Well  do  I  recall  a  teacher  in  my  school  life  who  set 
apart  his  regular  half  hour  for  so-called  moral  instruc- 
tion ;  and  if  there  was  a  half  hour  in  the  day  in  which 
he  wasted  words,  squandered  the  esteem,  forfeited  the 
respect,  and  lost  the  control  of  his  pupils,  it  was  that 
same  moral  half  hour.  It  was  the  appointed  time  for 
restlessness,  inattention,  and  disorder,  when  the  ex- 
hausted patience  of  his  hearers  found  relief  in  whispered 


142  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

if  not  muttered  complaint,  from  which  a  wiser  man  might 
have  learned  that  it  is  not  all  of  morals  to  moralize.  — 
George  Howland. 

Every  first-rate  teacher  rejoices  in  the  number  of  his 
pupils,  and  thinks  himself  worthy  of  a  larger  audience. 
—  Quintilian. 

There  is  nothing  more  frightful  than  for  a  teacher  to 
know  only  what  his  scholars  are  intended  to  know.  — 
Goethe. 

The  teaching  of  children  is  a  profession  where  we 
must  lose  time  in  order  to  gain  it.  —  Rousseau. 

God  very  often  gives  light  to  the  teacher  for  the  sake 
of  the  humility  of  the  hearer.  —  Quesnel. 

The  teacher's  vocation  is  the  most  widely  extended 
survey  of  the  actual  advancement  of  the  human  race  in 
general,  and  the  steadfast  promotion  of  that  advance- 
ment. —  Fichte. 

Put  a  man  into  a  factory,  as  ignorant  how  to  prepare 
fabrics  as  some  teachers  are  to  watch  the  growth  of 
juvenile  minds,  and  what  havoc  would  be  made  of  the 
raw  material !  —  H.  Mann. 

It  is  the  duty  of  a  man  of  honor  to  teach  others  the 
good  which  he  has  not  been  able  to  do  himself  because 
of  the  malignity  of  the  times,  that  this  good  finally  can 
be  done  by  another  more  loved  in  heaven.  —  Machiavelli. 

Scratch  the  green  rind  of  a  sapling,  or  wantonly 
twist  it  in  the  soi,  and  a  scarred  or  crooked  oak  will  tell 


BO  ADS   TO   SUCCESS  IN   THE  SCHOOL-ROOM.     143 

of  the  act  for  centuries  to  come ;  so  it  is  with  the  teach- 
ings of  youth,  which  make  impressions  on  the  mind  and 
heart  that  are  to  last  forever.  —  Wilkie. 

Let  the  teacher  remember  the  glory  of  his  profession ; 
nor  let  him  suppose  that  men  are  unwilling  to  learn  ;  the 
history  of  the  world  is  against  such  a  supposition; 
wherever  there  have  been  found  men  willing  to  teach, 
there  have  been  pupils  willing  to  learn.  —  E.  D.  Mans- 


The  teacher  is  like  a  switchman  who  holds  the  key  to 
the  switches  on  the  railroad  —  if  he  does  his  duty  faith- 
fully the  train  will  reach  its  destination ;  if  he  neglects 
it  disaster  and  ruin  follow.  A  misplaced  switch  or  a 
wrong  signal  may  send  hundreds  into  eternity  unpre- 
pared.—  E.  Foster. 

The  teacher  who  wishes  to  teach  well  must  know 
thoroughly  whatever  he  attempts  to  teach,  and  the  best 
way  of  doing  it ;  he  must  not  be  satisfied  with  superficial 
attainments,  or  with  any  way  to  do  it ;  he  must  be  fa- 
miliar in  matters  of  general  knowledge,  and  in  the  method 
of  communicating  what  he  knows.  —  J.  Hurty. 

If  ever  I  am  an  instructress  it  will  be  to  learn  more 
than  to  teach.  —  Madame  Deluzy. 

The  one  exclusive  sign  of  a  thorough  knowledge  is  the 
power  of  teaching.  —  Aristotle. 

The  schoolboy  does  not  believe  in  preaching,  or  in  the 
teacher  who  preaches.  —  George  Howland. 

Thankful  may  we  be  that  from  the  ranks  of  the  weary, 
the  needy,  the  changeling,  the  improvident,  the  unfortu- 


144  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

nate,  so  few  of  the  unworthy  have  found  a  refuge  in  oui 
schoolrooms.  —  George  Rowland. 

The  multiplication  table  was  his  creed, 
His  pater  noster  and  his  decalogue  : 
For  in  a  close  and  dusty  country-house 
He  had  so  smoke-dried  and  seared  and  shrivelled  up 
His  heart,  that  when  the  dirt  shall  now 
Be  shovelled  on  him,  ?t  will  still  be  dust  to  dust. 

Wordsworth. 

If  in  instructing  a  child  you  are  vexed  with  it  for  a 
want  of  adroitness,  try,  if  you  have  never  tried  before, 
to  write  with  your  left  hand,  and  then  remember  that  a 
child  is  all  left  hand.  —  J.  F.  Boyes. 

A  teacher  who  is  attempting  to  teach  without  inspiring 
the  pupil  with  a  desire  to  learn  is  hammering  on  cold 
iron.  —  Horace  Mann. 

Men  must  be  taught  as  though  you  taught  them  not. 

Pope. 

Think  of  yourselves  at  the  call  and  beck  of  the  parent 
who  could  take  his  little  boy  or  girl  up  to  the  public 
whipping-post  to  be  flogged  by  a  hired  baster,  and  that 
person  to  be  found  in  the  free  school,  and  there  intrusted 
with  the  tenderest  and  most  delicate  interests  of  life ! 
Believe  me,  my  fellow-teachers,  our  schools  will  be  men- 
tioned with  scorn  and  our  names  spoken  with  contempt 
till  we  cast  aside  this  relic  of  a  bygone  age,  and  cease  to 
be  the  sole  representatives  of  a  debased  and  degrading 
barbarism.  —  George  Howland. 

A  tutor  should  not  be  continually  thundering  instruc- 
tion into  the  ears  of  his  pupil  as  if  he  were  pouring  it 


BO  ADS   TO   SUCCESS  IN   THE  SCHOOL-ROOM.     145 

through  a  funnel,  but  after  having  put  the  lad,  like  a 
young  horse,  on  a  trot  before  him,  to  observe  his  paces 
and  see  what  he  is  able  to  perform,  should,  according  to 
the  extent  of  his  capacity,  induce  him  to  taste,  to  dis- 
tinguish, and  to  find  out  things  for  himself;  sometimes 
opening  the  way,  at  other  times  leaving  it  for  him  to 
open  ;  and  by  abating  or  increasing  his  own  pace  accom- 
modate his  precepts  to  the  capacity  of  his  pupil.  —  Mon- 
taigne. 

It  would  be  a  great  advantage  to  some  schoolmasters 
if  they  would  steal  two  hours  a  day  fr6m  their  pupils 
and  give  their  own  minds  the  benefit  of  the  robbery.  — 
J.  F.  Boyes. 

Do  not  allow  your  daughters  to  be  taught  letters  by  a 
man,  though  he  be  a  St.  Paul  or  St.  Francis  of  Assissium. 
The  saints  are  in  heaven.  —  Bishop  Signori. 

How  it  may  be  in  the  smaller  towns  I  do  not  know, 
but  in  the  larger  ones  I  believe  we  can  have  just  as  good 
teachers  as  we  choose.  The  bright  men,  the  intelligent 
men,  the  able,  the  earnest  men,  do  not,  by  any  means,  all 
go  into  the  professions  and  trade  of  choice.  Even  with 
the  present  inadequate  pay  there  are  good  teachers 
enough  —  lovers  of  the  work  —  to  fill  our  positions.  — 
George  Howland. 

Garden  work  consists  much  more  in  uprooting  weeds 
than  in  planting  seed.  This  applies  also  to  teaching.  — 
Auerbach. 

The  school  is  the  manufactory  of  humanity.  —  Com- 
enius. 

You  cannot  teach  a  man  anything ;  you  can  only  help 
him  to  find  it  within  himself.  —  Galileo. 


146  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

You  cannot,  by  all  the  lecturing  in  the  world,  enable 
a  man  to  make  a  shoe.  —  Dr.  Johnson. 

Unless  a  woman  has  a  decided  pleasure  and  facility  in 
teaching,  an  honest  knowledge  of  everything  she  pro- 
fesses to  impart,  a  liking  for  children,  and,  above  all,  a 
strong  moral  sense  of  her  responsibility  towards  them, 
for  her  to  attempt  to  enroll  herself  in  the  scholastic 
order  is  absolute  profanation.  —  Miss  Mulock. 

Some  teachers  seem  to  think  it  necessary  to  affect  a 
studied  precision  in  language,  and  to  cultivate  little 
crotchets  as  to  elegant  pronunciation  which  are  unknown 
outside  of  the  school  world.  The  moment  our  speech 
becomes  so  precise  and  so  proper  that  its  precision  and 
propriety  become  themselves  noticeable  things,  that 
moment  we  cease  to  be  good  speakers  in  the  best  sense 
of  the  word.  Ours  is  the  profession  in  which  there 
is  the  greatest  temptation  to  little  pedantries  of  this 
kind,  and  it  may  therefore  not  be  unfitting  to  refer  to  it. 
He  whose  speech  or  manner  proclaims  him  to  be  a 
schoolmaster  is  not  yet  a  perfect  adept  in  his  art. — 
" Lectures  on  Teaching"  by  J.  G.  Fitch.     [English.] 

The  largest  and  one  of  the  best  day  schools  I  ever 
examined,  where  the  whole  tone  of  the  discipline  is 
singularly  high,  manly,  and  cheerful,  has  never  once 
during  its  whole  history  had  a  case  of  corporal  punish- 
ment. But  the  master,  when  I  was  reporting  on  the 
school,  begged  me  not  to  mention  this  fact.  "  I  do  not 
mean  to  use  it,"  he  said,  u  but  I  do  not  want  it  to  be  in 
the  power  of  the  public  or  the  parents  to  say  I  am  pre- 
cluded from  using  it.  Every  boy  here  knows  that  it  is 
within  my  discretion,  and  that  if  a  very  grave  or  excep- 
tional fault  occurred  I  might  exercise  that  discretion." 


BO  ADS   TO   SUCCESS  IN   THE  SCHOOL-ROOM.     147 

I  believe  that  to  be  the  true  attitude  for  all  teachers  to 
assume.  They  should  not  have  their  discretion  nar- 
rowed by  any  outward  law,  but  they  should  impose  a 
severe  law  on  themselves.  —  J.  G.  Fitch. 

The  teacher  is  the  natural  leader  in  all  educational 
work.  He  consults,  plans,  and  directs.  He  enlists  pupils 
and  patrons.  He  studies  the  plans  of  his  predecessors, 
modifies  and  perfects  them.  Here  we  find  one  of  the 
many  reasons  for  retaining  the  same  teacher  for  a  series 
of  years.  — "  The  Art  of  School  Management"  by  J. 
Baldwin. 

"  Such  address  and  intelligence  as  I  chance  to  possess/' 
said  Mr.  Micawber,  "  will  be  devoted  to  my  friend  Heep's 
service.  I  have  already  some  acquaintance  with  the  law  — 
as  a  defendant  on  civil  process."  —  "  David  Copperfteld." 

For  the  teacher  and  for  all  his  assistants,  the  one  thing 
needful  is  a  high  aim,  and  a  strong  faith  in  the  infinite 
possibilities  which  lie  hidden  in  the  nature  of  a  young 
child.  One  hears  much  rhetoric  and  nonsense  on  this 
subject.  The  schoolmaster  is  often  addressed  by  enthu- 
siasts as  if  he  were  more  important  to  the  body  politic 
than  soldier  and  statesman,  poet  and  student  all  put  to- 
gether ;  and  a  modest  man  rebels,  and  rightly  rebels, 
against  this  exaggeration,  and  is  fain  to  take  refuge  in 
a  mean  view  of  his  office.  But  after  all  we  must  never 
forget  that  those  who  magnify  your  office  in  never  so 
bad  taste  are  substantially  right.  —  J.  G.  Fitch. 

The  school-room  may  be  made  delightful  to  both 
teacher  and  pupil.  The  teacher  may  go  thither  himself 
with  pleasure  day  by  day ;  his  pupils  look  forward  with 
delight  to   meeting  him  there;    disorder,   disobedience, 


148  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

confusion,  bickering,  and  evil  passions  do  not  enter  ;  the 
lessons  are  learned  and  recited  with  alacrity  j  and  the 
work  is  suspended  at  night  because  the  body  demands 
rest,  and  not  because  of  any  distaste.  The  children 
make  no  complaint  of  the  teacher  when  they  return 
home ;  the  teacher  harbors  no  ill  feelings  toward  the 
children. — Dr.  Thomas  Hunter,  President  of  the  New 
York  Normal  College. 

But  the  experience  of  many  is  the  reverse  of  this. 
The  teacher,  perhaps,  enters  upon  his  work  in  the  morn- 
ing with  buoyancy  and  enthusiasm,  but  in  a  short  time 
the  disorder,  idleness,  and  the  bad  behavior  of  the  pupils 
so  perplex  him  that  he  feels  that  his  school-room  is  the 
most  disagreeable  place  in  the  whole  world ;  he  finds 
himself  counting  the  days  that  will  elapse  before  vaca- 
tion somewhat  like  a  prisoner  in  his  cell.  He  begins  to 
suspect  that  he  has  overrated  the  work  of  teaching  and 
the  responsive  character  of  childhood ;  and,  possibly,  he 
begins  to  doubt  somewhat  his  own  abilities.  He  begins 
to  look  longingly  at  other  employments  of  mankind,  and 
probably  soon  leaves  the  school-room  forever.  If  he 
stays  it  is  because  he  must,  and  not  because  he  loves  the 
work.  —  Dr.  Hunter. 

The  work  of  teaching  is  not  such  work  as  can  be  un- 
dertaken by  any  one  "  dumped  "  into  it  at  any  time  of 
life  without  preparation. —  "  Common  Sense  in  Education 
and  Teaching"  by  P.  A.  Barnett. 

If  a  liberal  education  is  the  chief  thing  necessary  in 
any  walk  of  life  it  is  most  indubitably  indispensable  to 
those  who  are  to  teach  others  how  to  walk  through  life, 
more  necessary  than  any  other  part  of  their  equipment. 
And  a  teacher's  information  must  not  be  wide  only,  but 
exact  as  well.  —  P.  A.  Barnett. 


ROADS   TO    SUCCESS  IN   THE  SCHOOL-BOOM.     149 

It  is  frankly  conceded  that  school  management  is  diffi- 
cult ;  it  always  has  been  and  always  will  be.  It  consists 
in  the  skilful  arrangement  of  the  many  details  that 
arise  out  of  personal  relations.  Now,  as  the  greatest 
study  of  all  is  the  study  of  mankind,  or  of  our  personal 
relations,  it  is  clear  that  the  adjustment  of  the  teacher  to 
his  pupils,  and  of  the  pupils  to  each  other,  must  demand 
the  most  thoughtful  attention  ;  evasion  will  not  answer. 
The  expression  is  common  :  "  I  can  teach  well  enough, 
but  I  cannot  govern  the  pupils,"  or  "I  like  the  teaching, 
but  I  hate  the  governing."  It  must  be  reflected  by  all 
such  that  if  these  two  could  be  divorced,  as  they  suggest, 
their  teaching,  as  they  term  it,  would  be  of  very  little 
value.  Divest  teaching  of  the  personal  force  element, 
and  of  the  subtle  influence  of  the  teacher,  and  little  is 
left.  —  Dr.  Hunter. 

Teaching  requires  a  person  ;  it  is  instruction  presented 
by  and  through  the  personal  power  of  another  ;  the  per- 
sonal-power element  is  most  important.  Those  who  feel 
themselves  lacking  in  the  power  of  personal  influence 
and  control  should  examine  themselves  with  thoughtful- 
ness  and  care  ;  they  should  apply  the  same  method  of 
analysis  they  apply  to  a  difficult  problem  in  mathematics  ; 
they  should  ascertain  the  qualities  one  possesses  who  is 
an  efficient  manager,  and  determine  to  acquire  them ; 
should  discover  his  principles  and  methods  and  deter- 
mine to  employ  them.  —  Dr.  Hunter. 

A  man  must  be  very  sure  of  his  knowledge  ere  he  un- 
dertakes to  guide  a  ticket-of-leave  man  through  a  danger- 
ous pass.  —  R.  L.  Stevenson. 

Most  secondary  teachers  begin  their  career  as  Mr. 
Micawber  began  the  practice  of  the  law.     He  was  well 


150  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

acquainted  with  the  law,  as  a  defendant ;  they  are  well 
acquainted  with  teaching,  because  they  have  been  taught. 
—  P.  A.  Barnett. 

It  may  be  frankly  laid  down  that  no  one  who  has  had 
any  real  acquaintance  with  the  procedure  of  training, 
even  on  such  generally  unsatisfactory  lines  as  those 
which  obtain  in  this  country,  and  who  has  had  the 
opportunity  of  seeing  what  training  can  do  for  the  ordi- 
nary person,  has  ever  doubted  the  efficacy  of  the  process. 
And  when  critics  point  to  themselves  and  say  that  they 
were  never  trained  and  have  yet  done  pretty  well,  they 
are  certainly  open  to  the  retort  that  they  might  conceiv- 
ably have  been  the  better  for  training.  —  P.  A.  Barnett. 

The  first  necessity  is  to  be  sure  that  the  natural  apti- 
tudes and  sympathy  are  not  lacking.  A  sympathetic 
imagination  and  a  taste  for  teaching  are  the  gifts  of 
Providence,  not  to  be  conferred,  though  they  may  cer- 
tainly be  improved,  by  study  and  practical  training. 
The  fact  is  that  a  teacher  is  both  born  and  made.  — 
P.  A.  Barnett. 


CLARA   BARTON. 


THE   TRAINED  NURSE.  151 


CHAPTER    XI. 


THE    TRAINED    NURSE. 


"  Her  voice  was  ever  soft, 
Gentle,  and  low,  —  an  excellent  thing  in  woman." 

Shakespeare. 

The  trained  nurse  is  not  a  new  thing.  There  have 
always  been  trained  nurses,  but  they  are  better  and  more 
scientifically  trained  now  than  ever  before.  The  training 
is  given  in  a  regular  course  of  study  and  work,  both 
under  the  direction  of  instructors  who  have  themselves 
been  carefully  trained.  It  is  a  practical  training,  in  which 
the  pupil  is  not  only  told  how  to  do  things,  but  shown 
how  to  do  them  and  set  to  doing  them.  Such  a  school- 
ing in  caring  for  the  sick  can  be  had  only  where  the  sick 
are,  so  the  training-schools  for  nurses  are  always  con- 
nected with  hospitals.  The  training  begins  on  the  first 
day,  and  does  not  end  with  graduation. 

This  profession  of  trained  nursing  —  for  it  has  grown  to 
the  dignity  of  a  profession  —  is  one  that  girls  who  would 
be  self-supporting  take  very  kindly  to,  for  various  rea- 
sons. It  is  a  work  in  which  they  can  support  themselves 
from  the  very  beginning,  for  one  thing,  and  that  is  an 
inducement.  Then  after  they  become  full-fledged  nurses 
the  pay  is  large  —  or  at  least  it  looks  large  when  the 
weekly  or  monthly  wages  are  mentioned.  And  the 
duties,  as  far  as  most  girls  are  acquainted  with  them, 
are  not  hard.  For  these  and  many  other  reasons  most 
training-schools  for  nurses  have  large  numbers  of  applica- 
tions every  year  from  girls  who  desire  to  become  nurses. 
If  all  the  applicants  were  accepted  and  graduated  the 


152  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

pay  of  trained  nurses  would  soon  be  cut  down  by  killing 
competition  to  a  fraction  of  what  it  now  is.  But  many 
who  apply  are  rejected  on  account  of  unfitness,  and  of 
those  who  are  accepted  on  trial,  many  more  fall  by  the 
wayside.  You  need  not  look  upon  that  as  a  hardship ; 
the  profession  would  soon  fall  into  disrepute  if  it  were 
otherwise. 

You  are  not  to  imagine  that  with  the  present  system 
of  training,  which  is  as  nearly  perfect  as  we  now  know 
how  to  make  it,  the  hospitals  and  the  professional  teach- 
ers can  take  any  girl  of  suitable  age  and  make  a  good 
nurse  of  her.  They  can  take  any  woman  alive,  if  she  is 
strong  enough  to  stand  up  and  has  brain  enough  to  know 
a  bandage  from  a  box  of  pills,  and  make  a  better  nurse 
of  her  than  she  would  have  been  without  their  instruc- 
tion. But  that  is  not  enough.  To  be  better  than  she 
would  otherwise  have  been  is  not  sufficient.  To  make  a 
good  trained  nurse  she  must  have  all  the  qualifications 
that  were  necessary  to  a  good  nurse  in  the  old  days  before 
nurses  were  trained  in  schools.  She  must  be  strong  and 
healthy,  gentle,  kind,  long-suffering,  patient,  cheerful, 
must  have  her  nerves  under  thorough  control,  must  have 
good  manners  and  a  reasonably  good  education,  and  a  — 
shall  we  call  it  a  natural  aptitude  for  taking  care  of  the 
sick  ?  This  may  be  natural,  or  it  may  be  acquired,  but  it 
must  be  present.  Without  these  qualities  no  training  in 
the  world  can  make  a  good  nurse.  It  is  only  the  good 
nurse  who  has  been  trained  who  makes  a  good  trained 
nurse. 

I  am  sure  that  most  girls  have  little  idea  of  a  trained 
nurse's  work.  To  sit  by  the  patient,  to  keep  him  com- 
fortable, or  her,  as  the  case  may  be ;  to  be  familiar  with 
the  doctor's  instructions ;  to  give  the  draught  at  nine 
o'clock  and  the  pill  every  hour ;  to  take  care  of  the  tem- 
perature of  both  patient  and  room ;  to  see  to  the  ventila- 


THE   TRAINED  NURSE.  153 

tion,  the  food,  the  drink  ?  Those  are  all  a  nurse's  duties  ; 
but  they  are  about  as  much  her  whole  duty  as  the  doctor's 
whole  duty  is  writing  a  prescription.  They  bear  as 
much  relation  to  the  work  required  as  the  driving  of  a 
nail  bears  to  the  whole  work  of  a  carpenter.  And  it  is 
no  more  possible  to  make  a  list  of  the  trained  nurse's 
duties  than  it  is  to  tell  what  the  thrifty  housewife  has 
to  do  in  the  course  of  a  week  —  a  month.  The  duties 
vary  with  every  case.  Some  of  them  are  pleasant,  and 
most  of  them  are  hard  and  unpleasant.  In  the  hospital 
work,  the  training,  they  are  vastly  different  from  the 
private  cases.  In  the  hospital  you  are  told  what  to  do 
and  do  it,  but  with  private  cases  you  have  more  respon- 
sibility —  more  depends  upon  yourself.  You  must  not 
only  take  care  of  your  patient,  but  you  must  please  him, 
make  it  a  pleasure  to  him,  if  possible,  to  have  you  by  him. 
A  fussy,  nervous,  snappy  woman  in  the  sick-room  is  a 
woman  out  of  place.  The  hospital  patient  must  put  up 
with  it  sometimes,  but  the  private  patient  need  not  and 
will  not.  You  must  please  him,  and  please  the  family, 
make  yourself  agreeable  in  the  house,  and  please  the 
doctor  too,  without  neglecting  any  of  your  other  duties. 
If  you  do  not  please  them  all  there  will  be  a  new  nurse 
in  that  house  on  very  short  notice.  And  to  do  this  you 
need  not  only  all  the  qualities  I  have  already  mentioned, 
but  one  more,  of  such  vast,  such  vital  importance  to  you 
that  I  have  saved  it  for  separate  mention,  and  that  is  — 
tact. 

Without  tact  you  will  never  make  a  good  trained 
nurse.  And  the  training-schools  cannot  give  it  to  you. 
They  furnish  the  training,  but  you  must  supply  the  tact 
yourself.  If  all  of  your  private  patients  were  to  be  des- 
perately and  dangerously  ill  you  would  have  compara- 
tively plain  sailing.  People  are  very  docile  when  they 
are  dangerously  ill ;  so  are  their  families.     The  doctor 


154  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

and  nurse  then  are  as  big  as  a  hcuse,  and  can  lord  it  oyer 
everything,  and  sometimes  do.  But  your  patients  will 
not  all  be  dangerously  ill.  It  is  very  fashionable  now 
to  send  for  a  trained  nurse,  and  that  is  all  the  better  for 
the  profession ;  but  it  gives  nurses  many  patients  who 
are  only  ill  enough  to  be  cross  and  unreasonable.  The 
doctor  and  nurse  do  not  look  so  large  then.  You  will 
find  generally  that  the  doctor  has  enough  tact  to  humor 
such  a  patient,  to  tell  him  very  much  what  he  wants  to 
be  told.  And  you  must  have  at  least  as  much  tact  as 
the  doctor. 

You  will  see  for  yourself  why  it  is  necessary  for  the 
nurse  to  please  the  doctor.  It  is  not  only  because  he 
leaves  the  patient  in  her  hands  during  his  absence,  to 
take  the  temperature  and  give  the  medicines.  Generally 
the  nurse  gets  the  work  through  the  doctor.  Suppose- 
that  John  Smith  is  suddenly  taken  down  with  a  fever. 
The  family  send  for  the  doctor,  and  he  tells  them  that 
they  will  need  a  trained  nurse.  What  do  they  know 
about  trained  nurses  ?  Sometimes  they  have  had  a  nurse 
in  the  house  before  and  want  the  same  one  again,  but  in 
nine  cases  out  of  ten  they  depend  upon  the  doctor  to  get 
one.  He  knows  where  to  send,  and  how  to  have  one  in 
the  house  in  a  few  hours.  If  you,  being  a  trained  nurse, 
have  had  one  of  his  cases  recently,  and  have  satisfied  him 
and  the  patient,  he  will  very  likely  send  for  you  because 
he  knows  you.  Doctor  and  nurse  must  work  together. 
To  get  a  reasonably  good  idea  of  the  work,  imagine  some 
member  of  your  family  confined  to  bed  for  six  weeks 
with  typhoid  fever,  smallpox,  or  perhaps  a  broken  leg, 
and  you  nursing  her  and  taking  complete  care  of  her. 
I  mention  smallpox  because  you  must  be  prepared  to 
nurse  contagious  cases  as  well  as  others.  You  will  find 
that  few  trained  nurses  suffer  from  the  contagion,  because 
they  know  how  to  take  care  of  themselves  ;  that  is  part 


THE   TRAINED   NURSE.  155 

of  their  training.  What  would  you  think  of  a  doctor 
who  was  afraid  to  treat  a  smallpox  case  ?  You  can 
think  of  a  great  many  things  that  you  must  do  for  your 
sister  or  mother  if  you  were  nursing  her,  but  you  cannot 
in  an  hour  think  of  half  the  things  that  must  be  done. 
They  are  endless,  and  it  is  the  nurse  who  must  do  them. 
You  will  not,  as  a  trained  nurse,  either  in  the  hospital 
or  in  private  practice,  be  expected  to  work  both  day  and 
night,  for  that  would  be  impossible.  In  private  cases 
requiring  constant  watching  two  nurses  are  employed, 
one  for  day  and  one  for  night,  and  they  divide  the  time 
equally.  And  the  pay?  That  depends  largely  upon 
circumstances.  The  ability  of  the  nurse  has  something 
to  do  with  it,  and  the  city  she  is  in.  In  the  largest 
cities  twenty-five  dollars  a  week  is  good  pay  for  a  nurse. 
But  some  nurses  get  much  more  than  that  occasionally. 
There  is  plenty  of  money  in  the  large  cities,  and  the  sick 
millionaire  is  the  most  liberal  man  in  the  world  till  the 
danger  is  past.  If  the  doctor  tells  millionaire  Brown's 
family,  when  Mr.  Brown  is  dangerously  ill,  that  he  must 
have  a  trained  nurse,  and  that  Jane  Jones  is  so  much 
more  capable  than  any  other  nurse  he  knows,  that  she 
commands  fifty  dollars  a  week,  they  send  for  Jane  Jones 
without  hesitation.  You  will  be  surprised  when  you  see 
how  the  sick  millionaire  is  bled  from  every  vein,  and  I 
hope  that  your  conscience  will  not  permit  you  to  assist  in 
the  operation.  He  must  be  taken  to  the  hospital  ?  Then 
telephone  for  the  oxygen  ambulance,  at  once.  That 
costs  fifty  dollars,  and  another  ambulance  would  carry 
him  for  ten  dollars,  but  he  must  have  the  best.  But  your 
patients  will  not  all  be  millionaires,  and  most  of  them 
must  count  the  cost.  Twenty-five  dollars  a  week  I  have 
named  as  "  good "  pay  in  a  large  city ;  a  more  usual 
salary  is  three  dollars  a  day,  —  twenty -one  dollars  a 
week,  —  except  in  contagious  diseases,  for  which  the  pay 


156  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

is  always  a  little  higher,  though  not  very  much.  If  you 
get  twenty-one  dollars  a  week  for  a  broken  leg  you  would 
get  twenty-five  dollars  a  week  for  a  smallpox  case,  or 
scarlet  fever,  or  typhus. 

In  smaller  cities  the  pay  is  less,  and  still  less  in  towns 
and  villages.  It  goes  down  in  some  cases,  though  rarely, 
as  low  as  ten  dollars  a  week.  Fifteen  dollars  is  a  fair 
price  in  a  town,  and  from  fifteen  to  twenty  in  a  small 
city.  But  there  are  some  points  about  the  pay  that  you 
must  take  special  notice  of.  If  you  estimate  that  you 
may  have  twenty-five  dollars  a  week  for  fifty-two  weeks 
in  the  year  you  will  overestimate  very  largely.  It  is 
almost  impossible  that  you  should  be  constantly  em- 
ployed ;  there  must  always  be  time  lost  between  one  case 
finished  and  another  begun,  and  so  much  time  may  be  lost 
that  your  weeks  of  employment  will  be  twenty-six  in  the 
year  instead  of  fifty-two.  Then  you  must  have  a  home 
throughout  the  entire  year,  for  you  cannot  give  up  your 
home  and  stop  its  expenses  every  time  you  go  to  a  pa- 
tient's house.  The  home  costs  much  more  in  a  large 
city  than  in  a  small  one,  and  that  is  why  the  pay  in  large 
cities  is  higher.  So  you  see  that  between  twenty-five 
dollars  a  week  in  New  York  or  Chicago  and  fifteen  dol- 
lars a  week  in  Oswego  or  Scranton  the  ten  dollars  a 
week  difference  is  not  so  much  to  your  profit  as  to  the 
profit  of  your  landlady  or  landlord  and  butcher  and 
baker  in  the  larger  city. 

If  you  are  convinced  that  you  have  the  health  and  the 
other  qualifications  necessary  for  a  trained  nurse  (among 
which  a  common-school  education,  at  the  very  least,  is 
one  of  the  foremost),  and  believe  that  in  this  direction  lie 
your  opportunities,  you  will  want  to  know  how  to  take 
the  first  step.  I  have  seen  within  the  last  year  four  or 
five  letters  from  girls  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
written  to  friends  in  or  near  New  York,  saying  that  they 


THE   TRAINED  NURSE.  157 

wished  to  become  trained  nurses,  and  asking  how  to  go 
about  it.  The  information  lay  right  under  their  hands, 
in  their  own  towns ;  but  they  did  not  know  it,  and  wrote 
to  friends  a  thousand  miles  away  who  did  not  know 
either.  And  nothing  could  be  easier  to  learn,  no  matter 
where  you  are. 

You  should  proceed  in  the  first  place  exactly  as  if  you 
were  a  boy  who  desired  to  become  a  cadet  at  West  Point. 
The  superintendent  of  the  West  Point  Military  Academy 
tells  boys  who  have  that  ambition  to  go  first  to  the  family 
doctor  to  be  examined  physically,  to  learn  whether  they 
have  the  necessary  physical  qualifications.  "  This  exam- 
ination does  not  take  the  place  of  the  official  examina- 
tion," he  adds,  "  for  you  will  be  examined  again  when 
you  come  here.  But  it  may  save  you  much  needless 
preparation  and  worry,  for  you  cannot  enter  the  Military 
Academy  unless  you  can  pass  the  physical  examination, 
no  matter  what  your  mental  acquirements  may  be ;  and 
if  you  are  not  strong  enough  it  is  best  that  you  should 
know  it  at  the  beginning."  That  is  just  what  the  su- 
perintendents of  training  schools  for  nurses  tell  all  ap- 
plicants. "Find  out  first  whether  you  have  sufficient 
health  and  strength,  for  if  you  have  not  it  is  useless  for 
you  to  try."  Go,  then,  in  the  first  place  to  your  doctor, 
the  doctor  whom  you  know  and  who  knows  you,  and  tell 
him  exactly  what  you  have  come  for.  After  exam- 
ining you  he  will  tell  you  whether  you  have  any  physi- 
cal defects  that  would  interfere  with  your  work  as  a  nurse. 

The  doctor  who  examines  a  boy  for  West  Point  must 
have  a  list  of  the  physical  defects  which  would  cause  his 
rejection,  and  the  superintendent  has  such  lists  ready 
for  applicants.  But  your  doctor  needs  no  such  list  in  a 
training-school  examination.  He  knows  what  the  re- 
quirements are,  and  what  defects  would  exclude  you. 
He  is  familiar  with  the  work  of  the  training   schools, 


158  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

with  the  work  of  the  nurse,  and  can  soon  tell  you  whether 
you  have  the  necessary  physique.  Remember  that  this 
is  not  a  final  examination.  They  will  examine  you  again 
when  you  apply  at  the  training-school,  and  their  opinion 
may  not  be  the  same  as  your  doctor's.  But  as  a  rule 
such  an  examination  will  tell  you  whether  you  are  phys- 
ically fitted  for  the  work  or  not. 

The  doctor  will  do  more  for  you  than  give  you  his  opin- 
ion of  your  health.  Nurses  are  an  important  part  of 
his  daily  life,  and  when  he  learns  that  you  wish  to  be- 
come a  nurse  he  will  almost  certainly  take  some  interest 
in  you.  He  will  tell  you  where,  in  his  opinion,  it  is  best 
for  you  to  apply.  And  he  is  sure  to  have  a  leaning 
toward  the  place  that  he  is  most  familiar  with.  If  he 
was  one  of  the  young  physicians  of  Bellevue  Hospital  in 
his  earlier  days,  he  knows  all  about  the  Bellevue  train- 
ing-school for  nurses,  and  will  advise  you  to  apply  there. 
His  advice  will  be  valuable  to  you,  whether  you  follow 
it  or  not.  You  may  have  reasons  of  your  own  for  not 
applying  to  the  school  that  he  recommends  as  the  best, 
but  in  any  case  you  should  know  something  about  it. 
There  is  great  room  for  selection  in  this  matter  —  so  many 
hospitals,  both  large  and  small,  have  training-schools  for 
nurses.  There  is  a  certain  prestige,  of  course,  attached 
to  coming  from  one  of  the  larger  hospitals.  Every  phy- 
sician knows  of  Bellevue  Hospital,  and  the  New  York 
Hospital,  and  Mount  Sinai  Hospital,  and  knows  that  if 
a  nurse  comes  from  one  of  them  she  has  been  well  trained, 
and  has  had  ample  opportunity  for  practice.  But  the 
trained  nurses  cannot  all  come  from  the  large  hospitals 
any  more  than  all  the  young  collegians  can  come  from 
Harvard  or  Yale  or  Princeton.  There  is  much  in  a  name, 
but  circumstances  may  make  it  advisable  for  you  to  apply 
to  the  training-school  of  the  hospital  in  the  small  city 
nearest  you.     That  is  often  the  best  course,  and  you  may 


THE  TRAINED  NURSE.  159 

find  it  just  as  profitable  in  the  end  to  build  up  a  practice 
in  your  own  town  as  to  join  the  crowd  of  nurses  in  one 
of  the  larger  cities.  If  you  become  a  good  nurse  your 
neighbors  and  friends  will  soon  find  it  out. 

Your  doctor  will  tell  you  about  the  hospitals  and 
training-schools  in  your  immediate  neighborhood,  as  well 
as  about  the  larger  ones,  and  with  this  information  you 
will  write  to  such  as  you  select,  asking  for  a  blank  appli- 
cation for  admission  to  the  training-school,  and  address- 
ing your  letter  to  the  superintendent  (or  matron,  if  you 

choose)  of  the  trainiDg-school  for  nurses, Hospital, 

.     Even  in  the  largest  cities  no  street  and  number 

are  necessary  for  a  hospital.  Simply  "  Bellevue  Hospital, 
New  York,"  will  reach  the  spot ;  and  the  answer  will 
always  come  if  you  take  care  to  inclose  a  stamped 
envelope  addressed  to  yourself.  You  should  never  write 
to  any  stranger  on  your  own  business  expecting  an  answer 
without  inclosing  a  stamped  and  addressed  envelope. 

By  this  time  you  will  have  made  something  of  a  start 
toward  becoming  a  trained  nurse.  And  all  this  may  be 
done  in  the  utmost  privacy,  which  is  an  advantage,  for 
it  is  not  well  to  announce  to  your  friends  that  you  are  go- 
ing to  be  a  trained  nurse  until  you  know  whether  you 
are  or  not.  The  blank  forms  that  will  be  sent  you  will 
give  you  a  good  idea  of  the  requirements.  They  will  tell 
you,  too,  what  references  you  must  have  from  your  doc- 
tor, your  clergyman,  and  others.  When  you  are  ready  you 
can  fill  in  the  blanks  and  send  the  application  to  the 
training-school  you  have  selected ;  and  when  your  turn 
comes,  that  is,  when  there  is  a  vacancy,  which  may  be  in 
a  few  weeks,  perhaps  not  for  months,  possibly  not  for 
many  months,  you  will  be  sent  for. 

If  you  are  still  very  young  you  can  do  all  the  things  I 
have  named  up  to  sending  in  your  application,  and  then 
take  time  to  prepare  yourself  for  the  work.     There  is  not 


160  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS    GIRLS. 

the  least  danger  of  your  knowing  too  much,  and  they  do 
not  want  young  girls  in  the  training-schools  and  hospitals. 
Different  hospitals  set  different  age  limits.  In  some  the 
probationer  must  be  not  under  twenty-three  and  not 
over  thirty-three.  In  general  the  rule  is  between  twenty- 
one  and  thirty-five  ;  very  few  hospitals  will  take  a  pupil 
under  twenty-one  years  old,  and  scarcely  any  over  thirty- 
five. 

There  is  a  salary  from  the  start,  after  you  are  accepted, 
though  it  is  not  called  a  salary,  because  the  hospitals  in- 
sist that  the  instruction  a  pupil  receives  more  than  pays 
for  the  work  she  does.  But  it  is  money  coming  in,  by 
whatever  name  it  is  called.  Not  much  money,  but 
enough  to  buy  the  plain  uniforms  a  pupil  is  required  to 
wear,  and  perhaps  a  little  more  —  ten  dollars  a  month  is 
about  the  average  in  the  first  year,  besides,  of  course, 
board  and  lodging.  The  course  in  a  training-school  is 
never  less  than  two  years,  and  in  some  hospitals  three 
years,  with  a  strong  probability  that  in  the  larger  ones  it 
will  soon  be  increased  to  four  years.  And  if  you  are 
well  and  strong,  and  have  grit  and  tact  and  a  taste  for 
the  work,  you  have  every  reason  to  look  for  success. 

Girls  who  write  to  the  Mount  Sinai  Hospital  for  the 
circular  of  instructions  receive  a  packet  containing  the 
following  documents,  which  give  the  fullest  instructions  : 

Mount  Sinai 
Training-School  tor  Nurses, 
149  East  67th  Street. 


New  York, 

Dear  Madam  : 

Your  letter  with  reference  to  entering  the  Mount  Sinai  Training 
School  for  Nurses  has  been  received. 

As  the  number  of  applicants  is  so  large  that  only  those  best 
fitted  for  the  work  can  be  accepted,  we  request  you  to  write  a  per- 
sonal letter  stating  your  educational  advantages,  previous  occupa- 
tion if  any,  family  ties,  freedom  from  responsibility  for  two  years 


THE  TRAINED  NURSE.  161 

if  accepted,  and  your  reason  and  motives  for  entering  upon  this 
profession. 

Please  also  state  whether  you  have  ever  been  employed  in  any 
Hospital  or  Asylum  or  have  ever  applied  elsewhere  for  a  like  posi- 
tion. 

Very  truly, 


Sup  erintenden  t . 


Mount  Sinai 
Training-school  for  Nurses, 
49  East  67th  Street,  New  York. 


CIRCULAR    OF    INFORMATION. 

The  Mount  Sinai  Training-School  for  Nurses  gives  two  years' 
training  to  women  desirous  of  becoming  professional  nurses. 

Those  wishing  to  obtain  this  c  mrse  of  instruction  must  apply  to 
the  Superintendent  of  the  Training-School,  149  E.  67th  Street, 
New  York,  upon  whose  approval  they  will  be  received  into  the 
school  for  one  month  on  probation. 

The  most  acceptable  age  for  candidates  is  from  twenty-one  to 
thirty-five  years.     Applicants  are  received  at  any  time  of  the  year. 

The  applicant  should  send,  with  answers  to  the  paper  of  ques- 
tions, a  clergyman's  letter  testifying  to  her  moral  character  and  a 
physician's  certificate  stating  that  she  is  in  good  health,  also  the 
names  and  addresses  of  three  ladies  and  two  gentlemen  (not  rela- 
tives) who  have  known  the  applicant  at  least  for  several  years. 

During  the  month  of  trial,  and  before  being  accepted  as  a  pupil 
nurse,  the  applicant  will  be  examined  in  reading,  penmanship, 
simple  arithmetic,  and  English  or  German  dictation. 

It  is  always  desirable  that  the  applicant  should  call  in  person 
on  the  Superintendent,  but  if,  owing  to  the  distance,  such  is  impos- 
sible, requests  fox  application  blanks  may  be  forwarded  in  writing 
to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Training-School,  and  the  application 
should  then  be  accompanied  by  a  photograph  of  the  applicant. 

The  Superintendent  has  full  power  to  decide  as  to  the  fitness  of 
probationers  for  the  work,  and  the  propriety  of  retaining  or  dis- 
missing them  at  the  end  of  the  month  of  trial.  She  can  also,  with 
the  approval  of  the  Directors,  discharge  them  at  any  time  in  case 
of  misconduct  or  inefficiency. 


162  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

During  the  month  of  probation  the  pupils  are  boarded  and 
lodged  at  the  expense  of  the  school,  but  receive  no  other  com- 
pensation. 

Probationers  who  prove  satisfactory  will  be  accepted  as  pupil 
nurses,  after  signing  an  agreement  to  remain  two  years  and  to 
obey  the  rules  of  the  School.  They  will  reside  in  the  Home,  and 
serve  in  the  wards  of  Mount  Sinai  Hospital  or  perform  such  other 
duty  outside  of  the  Hospital  as  may  be  assigned  to  them  by  the 
Superintendent. 

Pupil  nurses  receive  an  allowance  of  $7.00  a  month  the  first 
year  and  $12.00  a  month  the  second  year.  This  allowance  is  made 
for  the  dress,  text-books,  and  other  personal  expenses,  and  is  in 
no  wise  intended  as  wages,  it  being  considered  that  the  education 
given  is  full  equivalent  for  their  services. 

Nurses  on  duty  are  required  to  wear  the  dress  prescribed  by  the 
Institution :  white  apron  and  cap,  and  linen  cuffs  and  fine  lawn 
kerchiefs. 

The  day  nurses  are  on  duty  from  7  A.M.  to  7  P.M.,  with  an 
hour  off  for  dinner  and  additional  time  for  exercise  or  rest.  They 
are  also  often  given  an  afternoon  during  the  week.  Night  nurses 
are  on  duty  from  7  P.M.  to  7  A.M. 

In  sickness  all  pupils  will  be  cared  for  gratuitously. 

Accepted  candidates,  when  entering  the  Training-School,  should 
be  provided  with  the  following  articles  :  Two  or  three  gingham  or 
wash  dresses,  plainly  made;  one  dozen  white  aprons,  of  Lonsdale 
cambric  or  Victoria  lawn,  made  as  follows :  length  to  reach  the 
bottom  of  the  dress  before  laundered;  band  2\  inches  wide, 
fastened  Avith  two  buttons  ;  hem,  8  inches  deep ;  hem  down  sides, 
2  inches  wide ;  apron  when  finished  to  be  2£  yards  wide,  to  be 
gathered  on  band  to  meet  in  the  back. 

Two  bags  for  laundry,  one  calico  bag,  and  one  small  white  bag. 
A  good  supply  of  plain  underclothing,  each  article  to  be  plainly 
marked  with  owner's  full  name. 

A  watch  or  small  clock,  with  second-hand,  and  a  napkin  ring. 

Nurses  are  required  to  wear  broad-toed  shoes. 

If  the  teeth  are  out  of  order  they  must  receive  attention  before 
coming  for  the  probationary  month. 

All  correspondence  to  be  addressed  to 


Superintendent. 


THE  TRAINED   NURSE.  163 


COURSE    OF    TRAINING. 

The  instruction  includes : 

1.  The  dressing  of  blisters,  burns,  sores,  and  wounds;  the  ap- 
plication of  fomentations,  poultices,  cups,  and  leeches. 

2.  The  administration  of  enemas  and  use  of  catheter. 

3.  The  management  of  appliances  for  uterine  complaints. 

4.  The  best  method  of  friction  to  the  body  and  extremities. 

5.  The  management  of  helpless  patients ;  making  beds,  moving, 
changing,  giving  baths  in  bed,  preventing  and  dressing  bed  sores, 
and  managing  positions. 

6.  Bandaging,  making  bandages  and  rollers,  lining  of  splints. 

7.  The  preparing  and  cooking  and  serving  of  delicacies  for  the 
sick. 

8.  Obstetrics. 

9.  Contagious  Diseases. 

They  will  also  be  given  instruction  as  to  the  best  practical  methods 
of  supplying  fresh  air,  warming  and  ventilating  sick-rooms;  to 
keep  all  utensils  perfectly  clean  and  disinfected;  to  make  accu- 
rate observations  and  reports  to  the  physician  of  the  state  of  the 
secretions,  expectoration,  pulse,  skin,  appetite,  temperature  of  the 
body,  intelligence  (as  delirium  or  stupor),  breathing,  sleep,  con- 
dition of  wounds,  eruptions,  effect  of  diet,  stimulants,  and  medi- 
cine. 

The  teaching  will  be  given  by  visiting  and  resident  physicians 
and  surgeons  at  the  bedside  of  the  patients,  and  by  the  Superin- 
tendent, Assistant  Superintendent,  and  Head  Nurses.  Lectures, 
recitations,  and  demonstrations  will  take  place  from  time  to  time, 
also  examinations  at  stated  periods,  in  order  to  fit  all  those  taking 
the  course  to  be  competent  trained  nurses. 

When  the  full  term  of  two  years  is  ended,  and  on  passing  an  ex- 
amination, the  nurses  thus  trained  will  receive  a  diploma,  signed 
by  the  Examining  Board  and  by  a  committee  of  the  Board  of  Man- 
agers, and  be  at  liberty  to  choose  their  own  field  of  labor,  whether 
in  hospitals,  in  private  families,  or  in  district  nursing. 

It  is  specially  regulated  that  intending  candidates  apply  person- 
ally or  in  writing  for  application  blanks. 

Applicants  are  required  to  fill  out  in  their  own  handwriting  and 
send  to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Training-School,  149  East  67th 
Street,  New  York,  answers  to  the  following  questions  : 


164  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


QUESTIONS    TO    BE    ANSWERED    BY    CANDIDATE. 

1.  Name  in  full  and  present  address  of  candidate. 

2.  Are  you  a  single   woman   or   widow  ?    Have  you  ever  been 

married  ? 

3.  Your  present  occupation  or  employment. 

4.  Age  last  birthday,  and  date  and  place  of  birth. 

5.  Height.  Weight. 

6.  Where  educated. 

7.  Are  you  strong  and  healthy  ?  and  have  you  always  been  so  ? 

8.  Are  your  sight  and  hearing  perfect  ? 

9.  Have  you  any  physical  defects  ? 

10.  Have  you  any  tendency  to  pulmonary  complaint  ? 

11.  If  a  widow,  have  you  children  ?    How  many  ?    Their  ages  ? 

How  are  they  provided  for  ? 

12.  Where    (if   any)    was    your  last  situation  ?    How  long  were 

you  in  it,  and  in  what  employment  ? 

13.  Have  you  ever  been  in  any  Hospital  ?  or  Training-School  ? 

14.  The  name  in  full  and  addresses  of  two  persons  to  be  referred 

to.  State  how  long  each  has  known  you.  If  previously 
employed,  one  of  these  must  be  the  last  employer. 

15.  Do  you  object  to  the  menial  services   inseparable   from  the 

vocation  of  a  nurse  ? 

16.  Do  you  promise  at  all  times  while  on  duty  to  maintain   the 

cleanliness  and  order  of  the  ward  in  which  you  are  serving, 
and  to  obey  implicitly  the  commands  of  your  superior  in 
charge  ? 

17.  Are  you  willing  to  wear  the  dress  prescribed  by  the  Institu- 

tion after  leaving  its  jurisdiction  ? 

18.  Have  you  read  and  do  you  clearly  understand  its  regulations  ? 

I  declare  the  above  statement  to  be  correct. 
Date 


Signed 

NEW   YOEK   HOSPITAL. 

The  system  of  the  New  York  Hospital  is  slightly  dif- 
ferent, classes  beginning  the  work  at  stated  times.  Fol- 
lowing are  this  hospital's  circular  of  information  and 
application  blank : 


THE  TRAINED  NURSE.  165 

The  date  for  organization  of  new  classes  in  the  Training-School 
is  March  of  each  year. 

The  course  of  instruction  extends  over  a  period  of  three  years. 

The  School  consists  of  fifty  or  more  pupils,  divided  into  three 
classes,  who  serve  in  the  several  classes  for  such  periods  in  each 
case  as  shall  be  fixed  by  the  Executive  Committee. 

Applicants  must  be  between  twenty-three  and  thirty-three  years 
of  age  (at  the  date  of  the  organization  of  the  class  for  which  ap- 
plication is  made1),  and  possess  a  good  common-school  education. 
Unmarried  women  only  are  eligible.  This  term  includes  widows 
and  those  whose  marriages  have  been  dissolved  by  legal  process. 
They  must  be  of  good  character  and  in  sound  health,  and  must 
make  application  to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Hospital. 

Applications  from  colored  candidates  cannot  be  considered. 

If  admitted,  they  must  serve  on  probation  for  a  term  not  exceed- 
ing two  months,  during  which  time  they  will  receive  board  and 
lodging,  but  no  compensation  unless  accepted  as  pupils,  when 
they  must  sign  an  agreement  to  remain  in  the  School  and  subject 
themselves  to  the  rules  of  the  Hospital  for  the  full  period  of  three 
years  from  the  commencement  of  their  term,  unless  failing  of 
promotion.  The  probationary  term  is  not  a  term  by  itself,  but  is 
continuous  with  the  regular  term  in  the  event  of  a  successful  issue. 

At  the  end  of  each  year  there  will  be  an  examination  of  all  the 
classes ;  that  of  the  Head  Nurse  Class  being  conducted  under  the 
supervision  and  in  the  presence  of  the  Executive  Committee,  which, 
being  creditably  passed,  entitles  the  members  to  Diplomas  under 
the  seal  of  the  Hospital. 

The  Directress  of  the  School  exercises  the  functions  of  her 
office,  subject  to  the  general  authority  of  the  Superintendent. 
With  this  reservation,  the  School  is  under  her  direct  supervision  and 
control,  and  her  authority  extends  over  all  that  pertains  to  the 
duties  and  discipline  of  the  Nurses  in  the  wards,  as  well  as  to  the 
details  of  their  instruction  in  the  School. 

In  case  of  misconduct  or  insubordination,  the  Superintendent 
may  suspend  members  of  the  School  from  duty  and  refer  the  case 
to  the  Executive  Committee  for  final  decision. 

A  monthly  allowance  may  be  made  of  ten  dollars  to  the  Junior 
Class,  of  thirteen  dollars  to  the  Senior  Class,  and  of  sixteen  dollars 
to  the  Head  Nurse  Class.  Board,  lodging,  and  washing  will  be 
furnished  without  charge.  In  sickness  all  pupils  will  have  gratui- 
tous care. 


166  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

The  hours  in  the  wards  for  pupils  on  day  duty  are  from  7  A.M. 
to  7  P.M.  ;  for  those  on  night  duty,  from  7  P.M.  to  7  A.M. 

At  the  discretion  of  the  Directress,  pupils  will  be  granted  leave 
of  absence  one  afternoon  in  each  week,  and  they  shall  also,  if  the 
pressure  of  their  duties  and  the  condition  of  the  weather  permit, 
spend  an  hour  every  day  in  the  open  air.  They  will  also  be  ex- 
cused from  duty  a  part  of  each  Sunday,  and  will  have  a  vacation 
of  two.  weeks  in  each  year.  The  time  of  the  vacation  will  be  de- 
termined by  the  Directress  according  to  the  exigencies  of  the  Hos- 
pital Service,  with  a  just  regard  to  their  wishes  and  convenience. 

Pupils  absent  from  duty,  for  any  cause,  for  a  month  will  be 
dropped  from  their  classes.  They  may  enter  the  following  class, 
unless  their  absence  reaches  the  limit  of  six  months.  In  that  case 
they  will  be  dropped  from  the  School.  If  re-admitted,  must  begin 
the  course  anew.  Modification  of  this  rule  may  be  made  by  the 
Executive   Committee  in  its  discretion. 

.  The  instruction  is  given  by  the  Directress  of  the  School,  and  by 
the  Senior  Nurses  of  the  wards,  each  ward  being  provided,  as  far 
as  possible,  with  a  representative  from  each  class. 

It  will  consist  in  part  of  didactic  lectures  relating  to  the  general 
principles  of  nursing,  the  observation  and  recording  of  symptoms ; 
the  diet  of  the  sick;  the  methods  of  managing  helpless  patients, 
and  a  full  course  of  obstetrical  nursing. 

Also  practical  instruction  at  the  bedside  on  the  following  sub- 
jects : 

1.  Dressing  of  wounds. 

2.  Application  of  blisters,  fomentations,  poultices,  cups,  and 
leeches. 

3.  Use  of  catheter  and  administration  of  enemas. 

4.  Bandaging  and  making  of  rollers. 

5.  Making  beds;  changing  draw  sheets  and  sheets;  moving; 
preventing  bed  sores. 

6.  Gynecological  nursing. 

Those  desiring  admission  should  call  in  person,  whenever  this  is 
possible,  as  there  are  many  important  details  which  can  then  be 
stated  which  a  circular  like  this  cannot  cover.  If,  owing  to  dis- 
tance, this  is  impossible,  they  should  write  directly  (not  through 
friends)  to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Hospital,  when  an  Applica- 
tion Blank  (in  form  as  on  opposite  page)  will  be  forwarded  to 
them,  or  other  definite  information  sent  in  reply.  The  blank,  when 


THE   TRAINED  NURSE.  167 

filled  out  and  returned,  accompanied  by  a  physician's  certificate  of 
sound  health,  constitutes  a  formal  application. 

Those  who  have  already  received  an  Information  Circular  should 
state  the  fact,  when  applying  for  a  blank,  to  prevent  our  sending 
another  circular.     The  circular  is  always  sent  in  the  first  instance. 

Applications  are  considered  in  view  of  the  organization  of  the 
next  class,  never  in  view  of  a  "  vacancy."2 

Applicants  having  been  notified  of  acceptance  may  declare  them- 
selves ready  to  enter  in  advance  of  the  organization  of  the  class 
for  which  they  have  been  accepted,  should  the  withdrawal  of  some 
member  of  the  school,  from  sickness  or  other  unavoidable  cause, 
make  possible  the  immediate  admission  of  another  pupil.  Pupils 
so  admitted  will  begin  their  probationary  term  immediately,  and,  if 
accepted  after  probation,  become  at  once  regular  members  of  the 
school,  though  their  time  will  date  from  the  organization  of  the 
class  for  which  their  applications  were  originally  accepted. 

No  uniform  is  worn  by  those  on  probation.  They  should  come 
provided  with  dresses  which  may  be  washed,  but  not  with  any  out- 
side garments  they  expect  to  use  on  duty  after  admission  to  the 
school.  The  school  uniform  often  renders  such  articles  useless. 
This  uniform  must  be  worn  by  all  pupils  when  on  duty,  and  is  ob- 
tained at  the  hospital  at  the  pupil's  expense.  If  a  pupil  leaves  for 
any  reason,  before  the  expiration  of  her  term,  she  will  not  be 
allowed  to  take  away  any  part  of  the  school  uniform. 

Candidates  should  remember  that  the  acceptance  of  their  appli- 
cations is  for  a  probationary  term.  Their  acceptance  as  pupils  will 
depend  wholly  upon  the  developments  of  that  term,  regardless  of  the 
peculiar  circumstances  of  any  particular  case.  The  decision,  when 
rendered,  is  final.  This  uncertainty  as  to  result  must,  necessarily, 
attend  every  trial,  and  applicants  should  consider  it  carefully,  that 
undue  disappointment  may  not  follow  an  unsuccessful  venture. 
They  are  summoned  for  their  probationary  term  in  the  order  of  their 
acceptance,  those  late  on  the  list  coming  after  the  earlier  ones  (some- 
times several  weeks  after),  but  the  official  time  of  all  is  the  same,  re- 
gardless of  the  actual  time  of  entering.  All,  however,  accepted  for 
a  given  class,  will,  without  exception,  have  atrial,  on  probation,  in 
that  class.  Under  no  circumstances  (unless  by  voluntary  with- 
drawal on  their  part)  are  they  ever  omitted  or  referred  to  a  suc- 
ceeding class. 

Those  entering  late  and  those  who  have  lost  time  during  the 
course  will  be  required  to   remain,    after   graduation,   and  their 


168  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

diplomas  will  be  withheld  until  the  full  period  of  three  years  is 
completed. 

Personally  addressed  communications  received  by  the  Hospital 
authorities  respecting  a  candidate  will  not  be  given  to  her,  either 
before  or  after  the  probationary  term,  without  the  written  consent 
of  the  writers. 

The  Hospital  will  not  give  reasons  for  its  decisions,  either  as  to 
applications  for  admission  or  as  to  candidates  on  probation  or  trial. 

Inquirers  who  find  they  cannot  comply  with  the  conditions  herein 
set  forth  should  not  write  further,  as  no  exceptional  cases  will 

BE    CONSIDERED.1 

When  writing,  avoid  the  use  of  postal  cards,  as  they  interfere 
with  the  filing  of  correspondence.  Write  on  consecutive  pages  of 
a  sheet  and  always  in  the  same  direction.  Place  date  distinctly  at 
the  head  of  the  letter,  and  address  exactly  as  follows  (carelessness 
in  this  respect  leads  to  confusion  and  delay)  : 
Superintendent, 

New  York  Hospital, 

West  15th  Street, 

New  York  City. 

FORM   OF   APPLICATION   BLANK. 

1.  Candidate's  name  in  full  and  address. 

2.  Condition  in  life,  single  or  a  widow. 

3.  Present  occupation  or  employment. 

4.  Place  and  date  of  birth. 

5.  Height. 

6.  Weight. 

7.  Where  educated. 

8.  Are  you  strong  and  healthy,  and  have  you  always  been  so  ? 

9.  Are  your  sight  and  hearing  perfect  ? 

10.  Have  you  any  tendency  to  pulmonary  complaint  ? 

11.  Have  you  any  physical  defects  or  blemishes  ? 

12.  If   a  widow,  have  you  children  ?     How  many  ?     How  old  ? 

How  are  they  provided  for  ? 

13.  Are  you  otherwise  free  from  domestic  responsibility,  so  that 

you  are  not  likely  to  be  called  away  ? 

1  Ineligible  applicants  will  favor  us  by  accepting  these' statements  as  literally 
true  and  refraining  from  pursuing  the  matter  either  by  call  or  correspondence. 
»  Next  class  March,  1901. 


THE  TRAINED  NUBSE.  169 

14.  Where  (if  any)  was  your  last  situation  ?     How  long  were  you 

in  it  ?     What  was  it  ?     Name  and  address  of  employer. 

15.  Names  in  full  and  addresses  of  two  persons  to  be  referred  to. 

State  how  long  each  has  known  you. 

16.  Have  you  ever  been  connected  with  any  training-school  for 

nurses  ? 

17.  Are  you  now  under  engagement  to  or  negotiating  with  any 

other  school? 
I  declare  the  above  statement  to  be  correct. 

Date 


Signed . 


Earth's  noblest  thing  —  a  woman  perfected." 

James  Russell  Lowell. 


170  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

THE    NURSE'S   LIFE    WORK. 

These  are  the  women  who  carry,  wherever  they  go,  an 
atmosphere  of  noble  labor  and  unselfish  enterprise,  which 
brings  to  this  work-a-day  world  a  gleam  of  the  glory  to 
come.  —  "  Westminster  Review" 

Don't  start  out  with  the  mistaken  idea  that  a  nurse's 
career  is  a  serene,  beautiful,  and  easy  one.  The  calling 
of  nurse  is  a  noble  one,  but  remember  she  has  many 
hardships  to  bear,  many  obstacles  to  overcome.  —  Frances 
Eaton  Pope,  Graduate  of  the  New  York  Hospital. 

No  more  honorable  or  lucrative  employment  for  women 
is  open  at  the  present  day  than  the  comparatively  modern 
profession  of  the  trained  nurse.  —  Report  of  the  North- 
western Hospital,  Minneapolis. 

For  success,  there  should  be  a  sense  of  congeniality, 
and  an  earnest  devotion  to  the  work,  with  a  broad  love 
of  poor  and  sad  humanity.  —  Anne  A.  Hintze,  Superin- 
tendent of  Training- School  and  Hospital,  New  York  In- 
firmary for  Women  and  Children. 

If  you  enter  the  profession  merely  for  financial  profit 
great  will  be  your  disappointment.  There  is  so  much 
more  in  nursing  than  the  mere  measuring  of  medicines 
and  ministering  of  food  —  as  the  patient's  needs  are  often 
quite  as  much  mental  as  physical — that  unless  you  can 


THE  NURSE'S  LIFE   WORK.  171 

supply  these  wants  you  will  be  a  disappointment  to  your- 
self as  well  as  to  others.  Nurses  must  be  ministers  in 
every  sense  of  the  word.  —  Frances  Eaton  Pope. 

You  will  find  loyalty  to  your  doctors  a  most  important 
factor.  While  in  your  hospital  career  you  may  have 
worked  with  one  or  two  doctors,  outside  you  will  find 
yourself  the  aid  to  many.  The  true  nurse  faithfully 
indorses  and  carries  out  the  orders  of  each,  no  matter 
how  much  his  methods  and  ways  may  differ  from  those 
of  his  predecessors.  —  Frances  Eaton  Pope. 

The  various  requirements  and  privileges  offered  by 
the  different  training-schools  would  seem  to  make  the 
choice  of  a  school  difficult ;  but  upon  this  choice  much 
depends,  and  the  school  offering  the  widest  experience 
should  be  selected  carefully  and  intelligently.  —  Anne  A. 
Hintze. 

Cultivate  absolute  accuracy  in  observation,  and  truth- 
fulness in  report.  —  Dr.  Joseph  Bell. 

The  reason  firm,  the  temperate  will, 
Endurance,  foresight,  strength,  and  skill ; 
A  perfect  woman,  nobly  planned, 
To  warn,  to  comfort,  and  command. 

Wordsworth. 

The  career  of  such  women  as  Miss  Pattison  shows 
clearly  enough  that  of  all  occupations  nursing  calls  the 
most  imperatively  upon  the  greatest  human  qualities.  — 
"  Athenamm,"  London, 

The  very  large  schools  offer,  apparently,  more  advan- 
tages to  the  pupil;  but  often  the  schools  connected  with 


172  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

well-organized  general  hospitals  of  from  fifty  to  one  hun- 
dred beds  give  a  more  thorough  training  in  many  ways 
for  private  nursing,  and  there  is  less  restraint  and  for- 
mality, as  a  rule ;  though  in  selecting  a  small  school  care 
should  be  taken  to  see  that  the  full  term  of  training  is 
spent  in  the  hospital,  as  some  of  the  smaller  schools  send 
out  nurses  to  private  cases  for  too  long  a  time,  during  their 
period  of  training,  for  the  benefit  of  the  school.  —  Anne 
A.  Hintze. 

Is  it  wonderful  that  those  who  are  driven  by  stress  of 
famine  to  a  vocation  for  which  (in  spite  of  etymology) 
they  have  no  real  calling,  should  feel  its  duties  to  be 
irksome  ;  that  what  is  done  without  zeal  or  fitness  should 
be  badly  done ;  that  what  is  badly  done  should  be  badly 
paid ;  and  that,  by  a  fatal  reaction,  a  strong  discourage- 
ment is  thrown  in  the  way  of  those  who  would  otherwise 
prepare  themselves  for  a  profession  which  ought  to  be 
surpassed  by  none  in  dignity,  as  it  is  second  to  none  in 
usefulness  ?  —  W.  B.  Hodgson. 

As  you  enter  on  tne  work  of  a  private  nurse,  you  will 
realize  that  for  the  time  being  you  are  a  reigning  power 
in  the  house.  You  may  cause  the  family  to  regard  you 
as  a  perfect  godsend,  bearing  responsibilities  with  which 
they  find  themselves  unable  to  cope,  —  or,  on  the  other 
hand,  you  may  upset  the  whole  household,  inconvenience 
every  member,  create  discord  among  the  servants,  and 
even  uproot  the  faith  heretofore  placed  in  the  family 
physician.  In  other  words,  you  are  a  great  power  in  a 
household  of  sickness  ;  let  that  power  be  for  good.  — 
Frances  Eaton  Pope. 

What  sort  of  a  poor  man's  nurse  or  fever  nurse  would 
she  be  who  could  administer  medicine  or  mix  a  poultice, 


THE  NURSE'S  LIFE   WORK.  173 

but  who  could  not  clean  the  room  and  black  the  grate  ? 
All  household  work  can  be  better  learned  in  a  private 
house  than  in  a  hospital,  and  an  ideal  probationer  will 
certainly  be  at  least  prepared  to  wash  a  child,  to  cook  a 
simple  meal,  to  make  a  bed,  to  clean  ordinary  household 
utensils,  before  she  enters  on  more  technical  training.  — 
H.  C.  O'Neill 

If  the  training  is  desired  for  institution  work,  then 
the  large  school  of  wide  reputation  should  be  selected,  so 
that  the  best  methods  of  hospital  management  and 
routine  may  be  learned  and  practised.  —  Anne  A.  Hintze. 

It  may  be  that,  as  a  novice,  you  will  be  surprised  and 
dismayed,  for  the  moment,  on  finding  yourself  in  a  ward 
full  of  people  in  no  way  your  social  equals.  The  revela- 
tion that  you  must  care  for  these  people  may  come  upon 
you  with  a  shock.  But  remember,  if  you  are  not  willing 
to  minister  to  any  and  every  one  of  your  fellow- 
creatures  in  distress  you  are  not  fulfilling  your  highest 
mission  as  a  nurse.  —  Frances  Eaton  Pope. 

To  get  at  facts  in  regard  to  a  number  of  selected 
schools  which  the  applicant  may  have  in  mind,  a  polite 
request,  with  stamp,  sent  to  the  superintendent  of  any 
training-school  will  secure  a  report  which  should  be  care- 
fully studied  and  compared  with  others  for  the  impor- 
tant points  ;  but,  when  possible,  a  personal  visit  and 
inspection  gives  the  best  idea  of  the  desirability  of  a 
school  to  the  well-informed  person.  —  Anne  A.  Hintze. 

A  great  part  of  nursing  consists  in  doing  housemaid's 
and  lady's  maid's  work  deftly  and  well.  Lady  proba- 
tioners often  complain  that  in  hospitals  they  must  spend 
so  much  of  their  time  in  scrubbing  and  cleaning  ordinary 


174  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBL8. 

household  utensils.  If  they  have  not  already  learned 
how  to  do  these  things  it  is  quite  time  they  began.  — 
"  Our  Nurses"  by  O'Neill  and  Barnett. 

The  change  from  home  to  institution  life  is  great,  but 
the  manner  in  which  it  is  met  means  much  to  the 
observer  as  a  test  of  fitness  for  a  nurse's  life,  and  the 
beginner  is  fortunate  who  has  the  help  of  the  habit  of 
uniform  gentleness  and  courtesy  to  all  alike,  for  in  the 
small  world  of  the  institution,  as  in  the  great  world  out- 
side, what  the  woman  is  will  count  for  more  than  what 
she  does,  though  to  do  well  all  that  is  required  of  a  nurse 
means  that  she  is  much  in  herself.  —  Anne  A.  Hintze. 

Having  successfully  passed  through  the  "  probationary 
term,"  and  donned  the  pretty  uniform  which  designates 
you  as  a  nurse,  you  feel  suddenly  overwhelmed  with  the 
responsibility  of  your  self-chosen  life.  But  to  this  you 
grow  accustomed  after  a  while,  and  take  pleasure  in 
thinking  that  the  patients  in  the  ward  look  upon  you  as 
their  mental  support,  as  it  were,  and  that  a  pleasant 
manner  on  you-r  part  may  serve  to  shorten  the  weary 
hours  of  pain,  while  one  of  hurry  and  impatience  may 
make  these  same  hours  drag  woefully.  —  Frances  Eaton 
Pope. 

A  poor  man  served  by  thee  shall  make  thee  rich, 
A  sick  man  helped  by  thee  shall  make  thee  strong ; 
Thou  shalt  be  served  thyself  by  every  sense 
Of  service  which  thou  renderest. 

Mrs.  Browning. 

You  will  never  make  a  good  nurse  if  you  cannot  bring 
in  sunshine  to  dispel  darkness,  and  this  cannot  be  done 
by.  one  who  is  not  herself  in  vigorous  health.  —  Frances 
Eaton  Pope. 


THE  NURSE'S  LIFE   WORK.  175 

Do  not  forget  that  there  is  a  "  probationary  term," 
sometimes  of  more  than  two  months,  which  will  seem 
like  an  eternity.  During  this  period  you  feel  fully  con- 
vinced the  world  hangs  on  the  matter  of  your  dusting 
and  bed-making,  and  you  wearily  ask  yourself,  "  Is  this 
what  I  came  here  for  ?  n  But  keep  up  your  courage.  — 
Frances   Eaton  Pope. 

To  be  a  good  nurse  surely  demands  no  inconsiderable 
ability,  and,  as  it  seems  to  me,  there  can  be  no  better  or 
nobler  business  for  a  tender-hearted  and  clever  woman. 
—  Dr.  S.  Weir  Mitchell. 

There  are  perhaps  the  family  prejudices  to  overcome. 
The  leaving  home  is  a  great  question  to  be  weighed.  It 
may  mean  a  complete  change  in  your  life,  and  is  something 
which  you  only  can  decide  —  and  this  decision  should 
be  made  carefully  and  prayerfully.  Unless  you  are  in 
perfect  physical  health,  don't  attempt  it.  —  Frances 
Eaton  Pope. 

The  kind  of  work  expected  of  pupil  nurses  includes 
bed-making,  the  giving  of  diet,  medicine,  aud  treatment 
ordered,  assisting  at  surgical  dressings,  operations,  etc., 
the  care  of  appliances,  charts,  and  records,  and  usually 
some  dusting  and  sweeping  is  required,  besides  the 
cleaning  of  all  utensils  used,  and  care  of  the  linen  and 
patient's  clothing.  —  Anne  A.  Hintze. 

In  most  schools  the  whole  of  the  nurse's  time  is  care- 
fully scheduled  for  her.  —  Anne  A.  Hintze. 

The  essentials  of  a  good  nurse  are : 

Love  of  God  and  of  fellow-creatures. 
Strength  of  body  and  mind. 


176  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Cheerfulness. 

Belief  that  cleanliness  is  next  to  godliness. 

Refinement  of  character. 

Good  education. 

Knowledge  of  human  nature. 

Quickness  of  comprehension  and  action. 

Patience  and  perseverance. 

Frances  Eaton  Pope. 

No  two  cases  will  present  the  same  difficulties ;  no  two 
houses  will  afford  the  same  materials  and  resources  with 
which  to  meet  them.  These  must  be  taken  into  account. 
The  nurse  must  eat.  She  must  sleep,  and  this  is  better 
done  away  from  her  charge.  She  must  remember  that 
though  she  is  always  responsible  for  him,  she  cannot 
always  be  his  only  attendant.  —  O'Neill  and  Barnett. 

An  accurate  record  of  the  nurse  shows  her  standing 
for  the  month,  year,  and  for  graduation,  also  the  number 
of  days'  experience  in  each  department;  illness  and 
vacation;  besides  other  important  details.  — Anne  A. 
Hintze. 

The  duty  of  the  sick-nurse  is  to  recover  her  patient, 
not  to  show  off  the  resources  of  science  nor  her  own  skill 
and  knowledge,  and  is  never  compatible  with  the  desire 
to  furnish  material  for  experiments  in  the  interests  of 
future  scientists.  If  she  knows  her  duty  and  does  it, 
well ;  but  if  not,  all  other  qualities  count  for  very  little. 
—  O'Neill  and  Barnett. 

At  the  end  of  one  or  two  months  she  has  learned  to 
adjust  herself  to  institution  life,  and  has  given  evidence 
of  her  fitness  as  a  nurse.  She  is  then  admitted  into  the 
school  and  allowed  to  wear  the  uniform;  but  in  some 


THE  NURSE'S  LIFE   WORK.  177 

schools  she  is  not  formally  accepted,  and  does  not  sign 
the  contract  to  remain  the  full  term,  until  the  end  of  six 
months.  —  Anne  A.  Hintze. 

These  are  the  women  who  never  bow  down  to  what  R. 
L.  Stevenson  calls  "  the  bestial  twin  goddesses  of  Com- 
fort and  Respectability,"  but  who  can  perform  the  most 
menial  services  with  dignity,  and  to  whom  nothing  is 
common  or  unclean.  —  "  Westminster  Review" 

The  point  first  and  last  insisted  on  by  some  writers  is 
obedience  to  the  doctors.  That  is  made  the  beginning 
and  the  end  of  a  nurse's  duty.  I  do  not  advocate  dis- 
obedience, far  from  that.  A  nurse  who  disobeys  the 
doctor  is  wrong,  and  not  fit  to  be  trusted;  but  if 
obedience  is  put  in  the  wrong  place  it  does  harm  instead 
of  good.  Any  untrained  person  can  be  obedient.  If 
you  insist  on  too  literal  an  obedience,  and  nothing  else, 
you  get  a  machine  instead  of  a  nurse.  —  G'Neill  and 
Barnett. 

What  love,  what  fidelity,  what  constancy  is  there 
equal  to  that  of  a  nurse  with  good  wages  ?  They  smooth 
pillows,  and  make  arrowroot,  they  get  up  at  nights,  they 
bear  complaints  and  querulousness ;  they  see  the  sun 
shining  out-of-doors  and  don't  want  to  go  abroad ;  they 
sleep  on  armchairs,  and  eat  their  meals  in  solitude  ;  they 
pass  long,  long  evenings  doing  nothing,  watching  the 
embers.  Ladies,  what  man's  love  is  there  that  would 
stand  a  year's  nursing  of  the  object  of  his  affection  ?  — 
Thackeray,  in  "  Vanity  Fair" 

The  nurse  who  pleases  all  must  indeed  be  a  wonder. 
A  celebrated  physician  remarked  to  a  patient  whom  a 
constant   succession   of    nurses   had   failed   to    satisfy : 


178  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

"  You  had  better  send  to  heaven  and  demand  a  hospital- 
trained    angel   with   a   cast-iron  back."  —  "  Westminster 

Review" 

In  private  nursing  one  must  be  prepared  to  meet  many 
emergencies  which  may  arise,  and  a  nurse  must  assume 
responsibility  to  a  much  greater  degree  when  thrown  on 
her  own  resources,  as  she  is  frequently  expected  to  rely 
upon  and  exercise  her  own  judgment.  —  Mary  A.  Samuel, 
Directress  of  Nurses,  Roosevelt  Hospital,  New  York. 

A  nurse  is  frequently  called  upon  to  improvise  in  the 
sick-room.  Unexpected  conditions  arise.  One's  en- 
vironments (in  private  nursing)  are  not  those  of  the  hos- 
pital, and  the  nurse  who  for  want  of  proper  appliances 
and  the  ability  to  improvise  may  fail  in  successfully 
carrying  out  an  order  or  adding  to  her  patient's  comfort 
will  herself  feel  an  embarrassment  difficult  to  overcome, 
and,  it  may  be,  weaken  in  a  great  measure  the  confidence 
of  a  patient  and  friends.  —  Mary  A.  Samuel. 

I  am  old  enough  to  remember  when  there  was  no  such 
thing  as  an  anaesthetic,  but  I  never  once  saw  a  woman 
nurse  faint  either  before,  during,  or  after  an  operation. 
I  have  seen  men  faint,  and  I  have  known  a  few  who 
gave  up  their  professional  calling  because  they  did  not 
feel  themselves  competent  to  carry  out  its  details  in  the 
way  required.  —  Sir  Benjamin    Ward  Richardson,  M.D. 

Illness  brings  expense,  and  it  is  a  nurse's  duty  to  avoid 
adding  to  it  in  any  unnecessary  way  ;  for  instance,  in  not 
renewing  a  prescription  before  the  doctor  has  paid  his 
daily  visit,  or  in  the  ordering  of  surgical  dressings  or  ex- 
pensive druggist's  supplies,  which  by  exercising  a  little 
forethought  or  ingenuity  could  very  possibly  have  been 
done  without.  —  Mary  A.  Samuel. 


THE  NURSE'S   LIFE    WORK.  IT 9 

I  know  and  publicly  proclaim  that  the  results  of  the 
best  of  physicians  have  vastly  improved  since  their  cases 
have  been  in  the  hands  of  trained  nurses.  This  is  so  in 
private  dwellings ;  it  is  the  same  in  hospitals  —  there 
the  difference  can  be  measured  on  a  large  scale ;  the 
trained  nurse  has  worked  a  vast  improvement.  —  Dr. 
Abraham  Jacobi. 

A  nurse  will  find,  in  the  majority  of  her  cases,  that  a 
considerable  tax  is  laid  on  her  entertaining  powers  dur- 
ing the  convalescent  stage,  and  for  this,  if  nothing  else, 
should  she  cultivate  her  mind  by  reading,  and  seek  recre- 
ation and  entertainment  when  opportunity  offers,  in 
hearing  good  music,  visiting  picture  and  art  galleries,  and 
witnessing  good  plays.  No  accomplishment  is  wasted, 
no  culture  lost,  in  our  profession.  —  Mary  A.  Samuel. 

"District  nursing"  means  caring  for  the  sick  in  a 
room  where  it  would  be  impossible  for  any  one  to  sleep 
who  was  not  a  member  of  the  family.  —  Mrs.  F.  D. 
Craven. 

Every  nurse  should  be  one  who  is  to  be  depended 
upon ;  in  other  words,  capable  of  being  a  "  confidential " 
nurse.  She  must  be  no  gossip,  no  vain  talker.  She 
should  never  answer  questions  about  her  patients  except 
to  those  who  have  a  right  to  ask  them.  She  must  be  a 
sound,  and  close,  and  quick  observer ;  and  she  must  be  a 
woman  of  delicate  and  decent  feeling.  —  Florence  Night- 
ingale. 

[The  paragraphs  from  Frances  Eaton  Pope,  Anne  A. 
Hintze,  and  Mary  A.  Samuel,  quoted  above,  are  taken 
from  "  How  to  Become  a  Trained  Nurse,"  an  excellent 
work  on  the  subject  compiled  by  Jane  Hodson.] 


380  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 


THE    WOMAN    LAWYER. 


"  Seven  hours  to  law,  to  soothing  slumber  seven, 
Ten  to  the  world  allot,  and  all  to  heaven." 

Sir  William  Jones. 

Be  cautious  here,  and  think  the  matter  over  well. 
You  need  not  stop  to  ask  whether  a  woman  can  become 
a  lawyer,  because  many  women  do  become  lawyers  — 
more  and  more  of  them  every  year.  The  ice  was  broken 
years  ago,  though  its  chill  is  still  felt  in  the  water.  I 
have  here  in  front  of  me  the  catalogues  of  a  large  num- 
ber of  law  schools  that  admit  women,  and  the  lists  of 
names  of  their  students  show  that  hosts  of  American 
women  are  becoming  familiar  with  Blackstone.  The 
very  fact  that  so  many  law  schools  admit  women  is 
evidence  enough  that  there  are  women  who  wish  to  be 
admitted.  When  you  see  a  candy  shop  in  any  street 
be  sure  that  there  are  people  going  through  that  street 
who  wish  to  buy  candy.  The  supply  does  not  come 
before  the  demand.  There  were  no  colleges  for  boys 
in  this  country  until  there  were  large  numbers  of  boys 
who  needed  colleges.  With  so  many  law  schools  open- 
ing their  doors  to  women,  and  some  established  for 
women  only,  no  further  proof  is  needed  that  many  women 
are  studying  law. 

So  the  question  is  not  whether  a  woman  can  become 
a  lawyer,  but  whether  you  can  become  a  lawyer  if  you 
wish  to,  and  what  kind  of  a  lawyer  you  can  make  of 
yourself.     I  suppose  I  need  hardly  tell  you  that  it  is  not 


THE    WOMAN  LAWYER.  181 

every  woman,  every  girl,  who  can  become  a  ]awyer,  even 
a  poor  one,  and  you  will  not  care  to  be  a  poor  one. 
Among  men,  sublime  creatures  as  they  are,  not  all  who 
try  can  become  lawyers  of  any  kind.  Large  numbers  of 
them  in  the  unripe  state  are  dropped  from  the  law- 
school  classes  every  year,  and  still  larger  numbers,  I  am 
afraid,  might  be  allowed  to  disappear  without  positive 
loss  to  the  public.  How  many  women  are  dropped  from 
such  classes  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but  it  is  not 
wonderful  if  the  proportion  is  greater  than  among  men, 
because  women  are  newer  at  the  work.  •  They  have  not 
yet  the  great  professional  traditions   that  men  have. 

There  is  nothing  to  prevent  any  girl  who  is  competent 
and  has  the  means  from  taking  the  usual  course  in  one 
of  the  law  schools.  She  is  respectfully  treated  there, 
has  companions  of  her  own  sex,  and  is  on  a  level  with 
the  young  men  in  the  studies.  She  creates  no  sensation, 
because  her  being  there  is  already  an  old  story.  Or  she 
need  not  go  to  a  law  school  at  all,  but  can  study  privately 
in  the  office  of  any  lawyer  who  will  accept  her  as  a  stu- 
dent—  in  the  office  of  a  woman  lawyer,  if  she  can  make 
such  an  arrangement.  But  the  studying  part  is  only 
the  beginning.  To  make  a  living  at  the  profession  you 
must  practise  after  you  have  prepared  yourself,  and  if 
you  go  into  general  practice  you  must  become  more  or 
less  of  a  public  "man."  You  will  be  no  novelty  in  the 
law  school,  but  you  will  be  a  novelty  in  the  court-room, 
because  people  are  not  yet  accustomed  to  seeing  women 
lawyers  in  court.  There  are  not  yet  enough  of  them  to 
make  the  wonderful  sight  common.  A  young  man  law- 
yer who  stands  up  for  the  first  time  to  address  a  jury 
sees  the  whole  world  looking  at  him,  and  feels  the  effect 
of  it  in  tongue  and  knees.  But  the  young  lawyer  who  is 
a  woman  has  the  whole  world  staring  at  her  through 
opera-glasses,  or  thinks  she  has.     She  is  as  much  of  a 


182  HELPS   FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

sight  as  the  two-headed  girl  in  the  museum,  and  men 
crane  their  necks  and  wipe  their  glasses  to  see  so  great  a 
spectacle,  and  go  home  and  tell  their  wives  about  it. 

So  the  woman's  path  in  that  part  of  legal  practice  is 
harder  than  the  man's,  and  you  must  pause  to  consider 
whether  you  are  able  and  willing  to  travel  it.  I  do  not 
say  this  to  discourage  you,  but  to  warn  you  of  what  you 
must  expect.  This  difficulty  will  become  less  and  less 
every  year,  as  women  lawyers  become  more  plentiful ;  it 
may  have  disappeared  entirely  by  the  time  you  are  ready 
to  practise,  and  long  before  you  have  your  first  chance 
to  appear  in  court.  Only  a  small  percentage  of  the 
women  who  so  far  have  studied  law  have  gone  into  gen- 
eral practice,  and  many  have  gone  into  no  practice  at  all, 
having  studied  law  for  other  purposes.  But  there  are 
many  women  in  practice  now,  and  there  will  soon  be 
more.  The  hundreds  of  young  women  whose  names 
appear  in  the  law-school  catalogues  are  not  all  wealthy 
girls  who  are  studying  law  so  that  they  can  take  care  of 
their  own  estates.  Most  of  them  must  first  earn  the 
estates  to  care  for. 

If  you  have  a  well-developed  desire  to  become  a  lawyer 
you  are  an  ambitious  girl,  and  that  is  a  point  in  your 
favor.  With  that  strong  desire,  not  a  mere  whim,  you 
must  consider  your  health.  There  is  hard  work  in  the 
law,  and  to  do  continuous  hard  work  you  must  have  a 
good  constitution.  Much  of  the  lawyer's  drudgery  will 
not  wait,  but  must  be  done  promptly,  and  often  he  must 
go  out  to  do  it,  no  matter  how  bad  the  weather,  how  sore 
his  throat,  how  dangerous  the  cold  on  his  chest.  The 
address  to  the  jury  cannot  stand  over  because  he  is  not 
feeling  well  to-day.  In  making  some  suggestions  to 
young  men  about  going  into  this  profession  I  quoted 
recently  the  words  of  the  Lord  Chief  Justice  of  England 
on  the  subject,  and  they  are  equally  applicable  to  young 


THE   WOMAN  LAWYER.  183 

women.  If  you  are  going  to  enter  into  competition  with 
men  yon  must  be  able  to  do  as  well  as  they  can,  and  you 
need  the  same  qualifications.  He  names  love  of  the 
profession  as  the  first  qualification.  Have  you  any  love 
for  the  profession  ?  Do  intricate  legal  questions  interest 
you  ?  Is  it  a  pleasure  to  you  to  go  into  a  court-room  to 
hear  the  trials  ?  Do  you  find  anything  worthy  of  thought 
in  such  a  question  as  this,  for  example  ?  —  and  this  is  a 
real  question  at  issue  that  is  shortly  to  be  determined 
by  the  Supreme  Court  in  one  of  the  Middle  States :  A 
man  dies  leaving  ten  houses  worth,  we'  will  say,  fifty 
thousand  dollars,  on  which  there  are  mortgages  to  the 
amount  of  twenty  thousand  dollars.  He  leaves  also  sev- 
eral thousand  dollars'  worth  of  personal  property.  In  his 
will  he  devises  one  house  to  one  relative,  another  to  an- 
other, so  disposing  of  all  the  houses,  and  all  the  remainder 
of  his  estate,  after  the  payment  of  all  his  just  debts,  he 
leaves  to  John  Smith.  Do  you  know  enough  about  law  to 
see  the  question  that  arises  there  ?  Think  of  it  a  moment 
before  you  look  at  the  answer.  The  question  that  imme- 
diately comes  up  is  whether  a  mortgage  is  a  debt  in  the 
meaning  of  the  will  and  the  law.  It  is  not  as  easy  as  it 
looks,  and  a  great  deal  may  be  said  on  both  sides.  In 
the  absence  of  any  statute  on  the  subject,  the  lawyer  on 
one  side  will  quote  fifty  decisions  to  show  that  a  mort- 
gage is  a  debt.  The  lawyer  on  the  other  side  will  quote 
fifty  decisions  to  show  that  a  mortgage  is  not  a  debt. 
Do  you  find  yourself  interested  in  such  a  question  ?  If 
you  do  that  is  not  evidence  that  you  have  a  love  for  the 
legal  profession,  but  it  shows  that  you  take  some  interest 
in  the  work.  If  you  write  out  a  brief  on  one  side  or  the 
other,  giving  as  many  decisions  as  you  can  find  on  the 
subject,  —  a  brief  covering  fifty  pages  of  foolscap,  —  and 
then  copy  it  in  a  fair  hand,  and  still  feel  your  heart 
warmed  with  love  of  the  profession,  that  will  be  a  better 


184  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

test.  The  admitted  fact  that  women  can  become  lawyers 
is  no  proof  that  you  will  make  a  good  lawyer. 

Physical  health  and  energy  the  Chief  Justice  considers 
the  second  qualification.  If  you  have  sufficient  health, 
what  about  your  energy  ?  The  average  woman  I  think 
has  more  energy  than  the  average  man ;  but  in  this  case 
you  are  not  the  average  woman,  but  one  girl  considering 
a  grave  question  on  your  own  responsibility.  For  mental 
qualifications,  clear-headed  common  sense.  Of  course 
you  think  you  have  clear-headed  common  sense  —  we  all 
think  so  of  ourselves ;  but  do  your  parents  think  so,  your 
friends  ?  Then  the  last  qualification  he  names,  though 
one  of  the  most  important,  is  ability  to  wait.  That  is, 
the  financial  ability  to  wait  until  your  profession  gives 
you  an  income.  If  you  are  to  depend  entirely  upon  the 
law  for  an  income  you  must  have  a  practice,  and  you 
cannot  step  out  of  the  law  school  into  a  paying  practice. 
If  you  look  about  you  you  will  see  that  it  takes  the  best 
of  the  young  lawyers  some  years  to  become  self-support- 
ing, and  you  cannot  expect  to  do  better  than  they.  Then 
what  do  those  young  men  do  in  the  first  few  years,  dur- 
ing which  they  must  eat  though  they  have  no  work  ? 
Hundreds  and  thousands  of  them,  after  their  admission 
to  the  bar,  tide  themselves  over  the  struggling  period  by 
doing  literary  or  newspaper  work,  and  that  same  refuge 
is  equally  open  to  women.  If  you  are  able  to  do  such 
work  you  can  support  yourself  by  it  as  readily  as  a  young 
man  can.  So  you  will  see  the  wisdom,  perhaps  the 
necessity,  of  preparing  yourself  for  that  kind  of  work  (or 
if  not  that,  for  some  other  kind  of  work),  while  prepar- 
ing for  admission  to  the  bar. 

We  were  agreed  at  the  beginning  of  this  chapter,  I 
think,  that  if  you  are  to  be  a  lawyer  you  are  to  be  a  good 
one  ;  and  to  be  a  really  good  lawyer  you  must  be  a  com- 
plete one,  not  merely  a  transverse  section  of  one.     Cir- 


THE   WOMAN  LAWYER.  185 

cumstances  may  drift  you  eventually  into  some  particular 
branch  of  the  profession,  but  to  prepare  yourself  for  that 
branch  only  would  be  folly.  Beware  of  preparing  your- 
self to  be  a  probate  or  real  estate  lawyer  merely  with  the 
idea  of  keeping  out  of  the  court-room.  If  you  do  that 
you  will  be  only  a  small  part  of  a  lawyer.  It  is  true,  as  I 
know  you  will  answer,  that  there  are  hundreds,  thousands 
of  lawyers  who  devote  themselves  entirely  to  the  real  estate 
branch,  who  never  appear  in  court,  yet  who  make  money 
and  stand  high  in  the  profession.  There  certainly  are 
many  such  men  in  lucrative  practice  in  the  large  cities. 
They  never  appear  in  court,  they  make  money,  and  they 
stand  high  in  the  profession.  And  that  is  all  that  you 
know  about  them,  is  it  not  ?  And  that  by  hearsay  ? 
You  do  not  know  anything  about  their  early  professional 
experiences  ?  Does  it  seem  likely  to  you  that  they 
stepped  out  of  the  law  school  into  real  estate  practice 
without  feeling  any  of  the  hard  grind  of  the  profession  ? 
without  working  up  cases  and  appealing  to  juries  ?  • 

Do  not  believe  such  a  thing,  though  I  know  it  is  a 
very  common  belief.  Do  not  imagine  that  the  real  estate 
lawyer  is  ignorant  of  practice  in  the  court- room  because 
he  never  appears  in  court.  He  does  not  appear  now,  be- 
cause his  work  lies  in  other  directions,  but  he  has  been 
there,  and  knows  all  about  it.  There  is  not  much  to  be 
told  him  about  any  of  the  forms,  if  he  is  a  really  good 
real  estate  lawyer.  He  be  confused  at  standing  up  to 
address  the  court  and  jury  ?  You  might  as  well  try  to 
imagine  Henry  Ward  Beecher  or  Daniel  Webster  con- 
fused before  an  audience.  He  practises  one  branch  of 
the  profession,  but  he  has  been  trained  in  all  branches. 
He  has  had  his  training  in  courts,  his  long  and  hard  expe- 
riences, and  he  is  equal  to  any  legal  emergency.  He  can 
defend  a  petty  prisoner  in  a  country  justice's  court,  if 
necessary.     He  is  not  overawed  by  the  silk  gowns  of  the 


186  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Supreme  Court  in  Washington.  He  can  take  up  an  ad- 
miralty case.  It  is  the  really  good  real  estate  lawyer  we 
are  considering,  remember.  You  need  not  think  he  can- 
not because  he  does  not. 

Older  people  than  you  have  fallen  into  this  common 
error  of  thinking  a  real  estate  lawyer  expert  only  over 
his  deeds  and  record  books.  And  the  older  people,  also, 
sometimes  have  their  eyes  opened.  One  of  the  most 
celebrated  real  estate  lawyers  of  New  York  lives  in  the 
place  where  I  am  writing  this.  An  old  man,  deliberate, 
very  silent  at  public  meetings,  grave,  honest  as  the  day 
is  long,  a  man  to  trust  your  last  cent  with,  or  to  give 
your  last  cent  to,  if  you  have  to  pay  him  a  fee.  Such  a 
thing  as  his  appearing  in  court  had  never  been  heard  of 
by  his  present  friends  and  neighbors.  We  could  see 
him,  in  imagination,  shut  in  his  office,  poring  over  stat- 
utes and  musty  records,  almost  unapproachable  at  that 
work ;  but  nobody  ever  thought  of  his  pleading  a  cause, 
or  being  able  to  plead  one.  A  public  matter  arose  in 
which  it  was  necessary  that  the  facts  should  be  presented 
and  argued  before  the  Legislature,  and  he  was  one  of  the 
"  party  of  patriots/'  as  we  considered  ourselves,  or  "  gang 
of  obstructionists,"  as  the  other  side  called  us.  We  had 
a  great  deal  of  ability  among  the  patriots,  I  assure  you, 
but  not  public-speaking  ability.  Most  of  us  were  like 
the  real  estate  lawyer  that  perhaps  you  have  had  in 
mind,  knowing  what  ought  to  be  said  without  the  ability 
or  the  experience  to  stand  up  and  say  it.  In  the  emer- 
gency the  real  estate  lawyer  was  selected  to  present  the 
case,  but  it  was  a  venture.  He  understood  the  facts 
thoroughly,  but  could  he  present  them  ?  Or  would  he 
go  to  pieces  on  his  feet? 

He  was  only  a  real  estate  lawyer,  but  our  hands  are 
sore  yet  with  clapping.  He  gave  us  an  electric  shock. 
In  one  minute  we  saw  that  he  was  a  trained  orator,  for 


THE    WOMAN  LAWYER.  187 

that  is  quickly  seen.  I  wish  you  could  have  heard  those 
distinct  words  coming  slowly,  slowly,  and  then  have 
heard  that  Senate  chamber  ring  !  He  frightened  on  his 
feet  ?  He  was  a  giant  talking  to  a  lot  of  paper  dolls. 
Everybody  gave  him  breathless  attention,  for  seldom  had 
such  a  speaker  been  heard  in  that  state-house.  And 
such  mastery  of  the  facts,  and  bringing  out  of  new  points 
we  had  not  thought  of  before.  We  had  no  idea  we  had 
so  strong  a  case.  He  is  a  large  man,  but  he  swelled  to 
twice  his  size,  apparently.  He  was  allowed  ten  minutes, 
but  spoke  for  nearly  an  hour,  because  they  would  not  let 
him  stop.  He  dignified  the  little  cause  he  was  pleading, 
and  even  the  enemy  joined  in  the  applause.  But  you 
cannot  hear  him  in  New  York,  because  he  is  a  real  estate 
lawyer,  and  does  not  appear  in  court. 

No,  if  you  determine  to  be  a  lawyer  be  a  real  one,  and 
do  not  begin  with  the  idea  of  shirking  any  part  of  the 
work.  You  may  eventually  appear  in  the  Supreme 
Court,  but  I  imagine  that  at  the  start  you  will  be  glad  to 
get  a  sheep-stealing  case.  With  the  board-bill  overdue 
you  will  not  feel  like  telling  a  client  that  you  cannot 
appear  in  court.  It  might  be  awkward  to  wait  for  a 
real  estate  case  to  come  along.  There  are  specialists  in 
most  professions,  but  their  training,  if  they  amount  to 
much,  was  for  the  whole  profession.  The  eye  specialist 
can  set  a  broken  arm  if  necessary.  What  would  you 
think  of  a  medical  student  who  gave  no  attention  to  the 
nerves,  announcing  that  his  nervous  patients  should  be 
sent  to  a  nerve  specialist  ? 

If  you  go  into  the  law  with  the  due  deliberation  that 
I  have  suggested  to  you,  you  will  still  have  your  reputa- 
tion to  take  care  of  —  your  reputation  for  honesty  and 
fair  dealing.  That  is  worth  a  great  deal  to  the  lawyer, 
but  it  is  worth  everything  else  to  the  woman  or  man. 
Nothing  that  you  can  make  is  enough  to  pay  you  for  the 


188  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

slightest  deviation  from  strict  honesty.  No  one  else 
may  know  of  a  little  crookedness,  possibly,  but  you  will 
always  know  it  yourself,  and  always  regret  it,  unless  you 
become  so  hardened  to  dishonesty  that  you  come  to  look 
upon  it  as  a  matter  of  course.  There  is  no  business  or 
profession  you  can  go  into  in  which  you  cannot  be  strictly 
honest.  The  law  is  no  exception.  Honesty  is  not  only 
the  best  policy,  but  the  only  policy. 

With  a  common-school  education  you  may  begin  to 
study  law.  If  you  have  or  can  get  a  collegiate  educa- 
tion, so  much  the  better.  Look  at  the  schedule  of  train- 
ing required  for  teachers  in  the  public  schools  of  New 
York,  as  given  in  the  chapter  on  teaching,  —  the  course 
of  study  in  the  Normal  College  of  New  York.  If  you 
can  pass  that  examination  you  will  find  few  in  the  law 
schools  who  are  better  educated.  Here  is  an  outline  of 
the  course  of  study  in  one  of  the  large  law  schools  of 
New  York  city  to  which  both  girls  and  boys  are  ad- 
mitted, with  much  other  valuable  information  about  it 
which  applies  almost  equally  well  to  many  other  law 
schools.  This  is  one  school  out  of  many,  with  little 
difference  in  the  instruction  or  the  terms. 

NEW  YORK   UNIVERSITY   LAW   SCHOOL. 

The  Law  Department  of  New  York  University  was  established 
in  1835. 

In  April,  1895,  the  Metropolis  Law  School  became  merged  in  the 
University,  and  constitutes  the  Evening  Division  of  the  Law  De- 
partment. 

The  aim  of  the  school  is  to  furnish  a  thorough  legal  education 
and  prepare  students  for  practice  in  any  part  of  the  United  States. 

1.    Undergraduate  Courses,  leading  to  the  degree  of  LL.B. 

The  student  may  take  the  Afternoon  Division  (sessions  from 
3.30  to  6),  and  complete  his  course  in  two  years,  or  he  may  take 
the  Evening  Division  (sessions  from  8  to  10)  and  complete  his 
course  in  three  years.    It  is  intended  to  establish  a  required  three- 


THE   WOMAN  LAWYER.  189 

years'  course  in  the  Afternoon  Division  as  soon  as  the  arrange- 
ments can  be  made. 

Elective  courses  will  be  given  in  the  morning  on  Elementary 
Jurisprudence,  Contracts,  and  Corporations. 

A  student  in  either  undergraduate  division  may,  subject  to  the 
approval  of  the  Dean,  attend  any  of  the  lectures  in  the  other 
division;  but  this  rule  is  subject  to  change  or  suspension,  if  occa- 
sion arise. 

A  student  entering  the  Junior  Cla'ss  may  extend  his  course  over 
three  years,  taking  a  minimum  of  ten  hours'  instruction  per  week. 
A  selection  of  topics  may  be  made  from  either  division,  subject  to 
approval  by  the  Dean. 

2.    Graduate  Courses,  leading  to  the  degree  of  LL.M. 

COURSE  OF  INSTRUCTION. 

(Subject  to  revision  and  change.) 

AFTERNOON   DIVISION. 

JUNIOR    YEAR. 

Students  in  the  Junior  Year  are  required  to  take  a  minimum  of  twelve  and 
one-half  hours'  instruction  per  week.  Thesi*  subjects  may  be  selected  from  the 
Junior  Afternoon  or  Morning  or  from  the  First  Year  Evening.  Such  selection, 
however,  must  be  approved  by  the  Dean. 

Contracts  —  Professor  Ashley. 

Entire  year,  three  hours  per  week. 

Keener's  Cases  and  Condensed  Cases. 
Torts  —  Professor  Erwin. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Burdick's  Cases. 
Elementary  Law  —  Professor  Russell. 

To  December  1,  one  and  one-half  hours  per  week. 

Russell's  Outlines ;  Blackstone. 
Domestic  Relations  —  Professor  Russell. 

To  December  1,  one  hour  per  week. 
Sales  —  Professor  Russell. 

From  December  1,  one  and  one-half  hours  per  week. 

Erwin's  Cases. 
Property — Professor  Sommer. 

Entire  year,  three  hours  per  week. 

Condensed  Cases. 


190  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Code  of  Civil  Procedure  —  Professor  Miller. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 
Agency  —  Professor  Erwin. 

From  December  1,  one  hour  per  week. 
Common  Law  Pleading  —  Professor  Sommer. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Ames's  Cases. 
Substantive  Statutory  Law  —  Professor  Sommer. 

Entire  year,  one-half  hour  per  week.  This  course  is  designed 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  those  intending  to  practice  in 
New  Jersey. 

SENIOR    YEAR. 

Students  of  the  Senior  Class  are  required  to  take  a  minimum  of  twelve  and 
one-half  hours'  instruction  per  week.    These  subjects  may  be  selected  from 
**"»  Senior  Afternoon  or  Morning,  or  from  the  Second  and  Third  Year  Evening 
masses.    Such  selection  must  be  approved  by  the  Dean. 

Partnership — Professor  Arthur  Rounds. 
Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 
Ames's  Cases. 

Equity  —  Professor  Kenneson. 

Entire  year,  three  hours  per  week. 

Keener's  Cases.  » 

Evidence  —  Professor  Ashley. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 
Thayer's  Cases. 

Code  of  Civil  Procedure  —  Professor  Miller. 
Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Wills  and  Administration  —  Professor  Russell. 

From  February  1,  one  and  one-half  hours  per  week. 
Chaplin's  Cases  on  Wills. 

Bills  and  Notes  —  Professor  Russell. 
To  February  1,  two  hours  per  week. 
Huff  cut's  Cases. 

Corporations  —  Mr.  Tompkins. 

From  December  1,  one  and  one-half  hours  per  week. 
Condensed  Cases. 


THE   WOMAN  LAWYER.  191 

Trusts  —  Professor  Kenneson. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Ames's  Cases. 
Constitutional  Law  —  Professor  Russell. 

Entire  year,  one  hour  per  week. 
International  Law  —  Mr.  Opdyke. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Snow's  Cases. 

EVENING  DIVISION. 

FIRST    TEAR. 

Contracts  —  Professor  Ashley. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Condensed  Cases. 
Code  of  Civil  Procedure  —  Professor  Miller. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 
Torts  —  Professor  Erwin. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Burdick's  Cases. 
Criminal  Law  —  Professor  Ralph  S.  Rounds. 

Entire  year,  one  hour  per  week. 

Beale's  Cases. 
Real  Property  —  Professor  Sommer. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Condensed  Cases. 
Sales  —  Professor  Erwin. 

From  December  1,  one  hour  per  week. 

Erwin's  Cases. 
Elementary  Law — Professor  Russell. 

To  December  1,  one  hour  per  week. 

Russell's  Outlines. 

SECOND    YEAR. 

Quasi-Contracts  —  Professor  Ralph  S.  Rounds. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Keener's  Cases. 
Property  —  Professor  Sommer. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Condensed  Cases. 


192  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Equity  (begun)  —  Professor  Kenneson. 
Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 
Keener's  Cases. 

Code  op  Civil  Procedure  —  Professor  Miller. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 
Wills  and  Administration  —  Professor  Ralph  S.  Round 

Entire  year,  one  hour  per  week. 

Gray's  Cases  on  Property,  v.  IV. 
Agency  —  Professor  Erwin. 

Entire  year,  one  hour  per  week. 

Meehem's  Cases. 

THIRD    YEAR. 

Equity  —  Professor  Kenneson. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  Week. 

Keener's  Cases. 
Evidence  —  Professor  Arthur  Rounds. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Thayer's  Cases. 
Partnership  —  Professor  Arthur  Rounds. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Ames's  Cases. 
Bills  and  Notes  —  Mr.  Tompkins. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Ames's  Cases. 

Corporations  —  Mr.  Tompkins. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 
Condensed  Cases. 

ELECTIVE    MORNING    COURSES. 

Contracts  —  Professor  Ashley. 

Entire  year,  four  hours  per  week. 

Keener's  Cases  and  Condensed  Cases. 
Elementary  Jurisprudence  —  Professor  Ashley. 

To  December  15,  two  hours  per  week. 

Keener's  Selections. 
Corporations  —  Mr.  Tompkins. 

Entire  year,  two  hours  per  week. 

Condensed  Cases. 


THE   WOMAN  LAWYER. 


193 


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HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


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Senior  Code 
Prof.  Miller 

Domestic 

Relations 

to  Dec.  1 

Prof.  Russell 

Agency 
Prof.  Erwin 

Contracts 
Prof.  Ashley 

Quasi-Contracts 
Prof.  R.  S.  Rounds 

3d  Yr.  Equity 
Prof.  Kenneson 

Contracts 
Prof.  Ashley 

Quasi-Contracts 
Prof.  R.  S.  Rounds 

3d  Yr.  Equity 
Prof.  Kenneson 

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Junior  Code 
Prof.  Miller 

Partnership 
Prof.  A.  Rounds 

1st  Yr.  Code 
Prof.  Miller 

2d  Yr.  Property 
Prof.  Sommer 

Partnership 
Prof.  A.  Rounds 

1st  Yr.  Code 
Prof.  Miller 

2d  Yr.  Property 
Prof.  Sommer 

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Prof.  A.  Rounds 

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Prof.  Russell 

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from  Dec.  1 
Prof.  Erwin 

Wills 
Prof.  R.  S.  Rounds 

Corporations 
Mr.  Tompkins 

Criminal  Law 
Prof.  R.  S.  Rounds 

Agency 
Prof.  Erwin 

Corporations 
Mr.  Tompkins 

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Junior  Code 
Prof.  Miller 

Partnership 
Prof.  A.  Rounds 

1st  Yr.  Property 
Prof.  Sommer 

2d  Yr.  Equity 
Prof.  Kenneson 

Evidence 
Prof.  A.  Rounds 

1st  Yr.  Property 
Prof.  Sommer 

2d  Yr.  Equity 
Prof.  Kenneson 

Evidence 
Prof.  A.  Rounds 

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Torts 
Prof.  Erwin 

Senior  Code 
Prof.  Miller 

Constitutional  Law 
Prof.  Russell 

Torts 
Prof.  Erwin 

2d  Yr.  Code 
Prof.  Miller 

Bills  and  Notes 
Mr.  Tompkins 

Torts 
Prof.  Erwin 

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Prof.  Miller 

Bills  and  Notes 
Mr.  Tompkins 

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THE   WOMAN  LAWYER.  195 


LOCATION. 

The  work  of  the  school  is  carried  on  in  the  new  University- 
Building,  Washington  Square,  East.  This  building  was  built  in 
1894,  primarily  for  the  use  of  the  Law  School.  The  school  occu- 
pies the  tenth  and  eleventh  floors. 

REGISTRATION. 

Applications  for  admission  to  the  school,  or  for  information 
concerning  it,  may  be  made  to  the  Registrar,  L.  J.  Tompkins, 
University  Building,  Washington  Square,  East. 

Seats  will  be  assigned  on  payment  of  fees. 

Since  the  rules  of  the  Court  of  Appeals  require  that  eight  full 
months  shall  be  spent  in  a  law  school,  as  an  equivalent  for  twelve 
months'  study  in  an  office,  it  is  exceedingly  desirable  that  students 
should  register  before  the  opening  session  of  the  school. 


The  fee  for  instruction  in  the  undergraduate  course,  in  either 
the  afternoon  or  the  evening  division,  is  $100  for  the  year,  payable 
in  advance. 

An  examination  fee  of  $20,  covering  the  expenses  of  diploma  and 
graduation,  must  be  paid  by  all  who  apply  for  examination  for  the 
degree  of  LL.B. 

The  fee  in  each  graduate  course  is  $25 ;  and  a  diploma  fee  of 
$10  must  be  paid  by  each  one  who  applies  for  examination  for  the 
degree  of  LL.M. 

SESSIONS    FOR    CLASS    WORK. 

There  is  a  recess  of  one  week  at  Christmas,  and  no  sessions  are 
held  on  the  legal  holidays  during  the  school  year,  viz.  :  New  Year's 
Day,  Lincoln's  and  Washington's  Birthdays,  Memorial  Day, 
Thanksgiving  Day,  and  Christmas ;  nor  on  Good  Friday  and  the 
Saturday  following. 

In  the  Undergraduate  Courses,  the  students  in  the  Afternoon 
Division  meet  from  3.30  to  6  P.M.  every  week-day  except  Sat- 
urday. The  students  in  the  Evening  Division  meet  from  8  to  10 
P.M.  every  week-day  except  Saturday. 

LAW    LIBRARY. 

The  Law  Library  of  the  school  is  large  and  well  selected.  It 
now    contains    about    12,000    volumes,  and   is    being   steadily  in- 


196  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

creased.     It  is  open  from  9  A.M.  to  11  P.M.  every  secular   day 
during  terra  time. 

DEGREES   AND    CERTIFICATES. 

The  degree  of  Bachelor  of  Law  will  be  conferred  upon  candi- 
dates who  have  pursued  the  required  course,  have  passed  the 
necessary  examinations,  and  are  of  good  moral  character.  The 
degree  of  Master  of  Laws  will  be  conferred  upon  candidates 
completing  the  required  courses  of  graduate  studies.  No  degree 
will  be  conferred  upon  a  candidate  who  absents  himself  from  the 
public  commencement  without  the  special  permission  of  the 
Faculty. 

Certificates  of  attendance  will  be  given  to  such  students  as 
regularly  attend  the  sessions  of  the  school,  meet  all  the  require- 
ments of  the  Faculty,  and  observe  the  rules  of  the  University. 

REQUIREMENTS    FOR   ADMISSION   TO    UNDERGRADUATE    DIVISIONS. 

Every  candidate  must  be  at  least  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  of 
good  moral  character. 

To  the  Entering  Class  the  following  are  admitted  without 
examination : 

1.  Graduates  of  colleges  in  good  standing. 

2.  Holders  of  Law  certificates  of  the  Regents  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  or  the  equivalent  thereof.  (All  persons,  other  than 
college  graduates,  joining  the  class  entering  Oct.  1,  1903,  or 
subsequent  classes,  must  present  the  academic  diploma  of  the 
Regents  of  the  State  of  New  York,  or  a  certificate  acceptable  to 
said  Regents  in  lieu  thereof,  or  must  pass  the  examinations  for 
entrance  to  the  Sophomore  Class  of  the  University.) 

*  Other  applicants  are  admitted  as   special   students   without    an 
examination,   but  not  as  candidates  for  a  degree. 
To  advanced  standing  the  following  are  admitted  : 

1.  Those  who  have  regularly  attended  the  sessions  of  this 
school  and  passed  their  examinations  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
Faculty. 

2.  Holders  of  a  certificate  from  another  law  school  maintaining 
a  standard  satisfactory  to  this  Faculty,  and  who  shall  have  attended 
such  school  for  a  period  equal  to  that  pursued  by  the  class  to  be 
entered,  and  shall  satisfactorily  pass  examinations  upon  all  topics 
previously  taken  by  such  class. 


THE   WOMAN  LAWYER.  197 

PRIZES    AND    SCHOLARSHIPS. 

In  Afternoon  Division. 

Three  prizes  of  $100,  $60,  and  $40,  respectively,  will  be  awarded 
to  such  three  students  of  the  Senior  Class  as  shall  pass  the  best 
examination  of  that  year. 

The  Elliott  F.  She-par d  prize  scholarship,  and  three  University 
prize  scholarships,  yielding  $100  each,  in  tuition,  will  be  awarded 
at  the  end  of  the  Junior  year  to  such  four  students  as  shall  pass 
the  best  examination  of  that  year. 

In  Evening  Division. 
Two  prizes  of  $75  and  $50,  respectively,  wik  be  awarded  to  such 
two  students  of  each  class  as  shall  pass  the  best  examination  of 
that  year. 

BOARD    AND    ROOMS. 

Good  rooms  with  table  board  can  be  obtained  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  University  for  $6  per  week  and  upward.  Two  students  room- 
ing together  may  materially  reduce  their  expenses. 

Students  coming  to  the  school  from  a  distance  are  requested  to 
make  the  University  a  centre  from  which  to  make  all  arrangements 
preliminary  to  entrance.  Letters,  baggage,  etc.,  can  be  sent  to 
the  building  in  care  of  the  Law  School.  The  officers  of  the  Uni- 
versity will  render  all  assistance  possible  in  aiding  the  student  to 
find  suitable  rooms  and  board.  In  sending  letters,  baggage,  etc., 
use  the  following  address  : 

University  Law  School, 

University  Building, 

Washington  Square, 

New  York  City. 

ADMISSION    TO    THE    BAR. 

Students  complying  with  the  preliminary  requirements  and 
regularly  attending  the  sessions  of  this  school  are  entitled  to 
count  the  time  thus  spent  as  so  much  of  the  time  required  for 
preparation  for  the  New  York  Bar.  An  office  clerkship  is  no 
longer  necessary.  College  graduates  are  entitled  to  apply  for 
such  admission  at  the  end  of  two  years  in  this  school,  and  other 
students  at  the  end  of  three  years. ,  For  admission  to  the  New 
Jersey  Bar,  eighteen  months  spent  in  this  school  is  accepted  as 
equivalent  to  that  period  of  clerkship  in  a  lawyer's  office. 


198  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

GRADUATE  COURSES. 

(Subject  to  revision  and  change.) 

To  meet  the  wants  of  members  of  the  bar  and  graduates  of  law 
schools,  these  graduate  courses  have  been  established. 

They  lead  to  the  degree  of  Master  of  Laws.  They  are  given 
under  the  following  rules  : 

1.  At  least  five  courses,  one  of  which  must  be  Roman  Law  or 
Historical  and  Analytical  Jurisprudence  or  advanced  Constitu- 
tional Law,  with  an  examination  in  each,  will  be  required  for  the 
degree,  except  from  those  heretofore  enrolled  under  previous  reg- 
ulations.    Course  X.  on  Trusts  will  count  as  two  courses. 

2.  One  lecture  each  week  of  the  session  will  be  given  in  each 
course.  The  hours  of  the  lectures  are  so  arranged  that  one  may 
attend  several  of  the  courses  concurrently. 

3.  Any  Bachelor  of  Laws  or  Member  of  the  Bar  may  enroll  for 
one  or  more  of  the  courses,  as  he  may  choose.  But  those  here- 
after enrolling  will  not  be  eligible  to  the  degree  of  LL.M.  without 
having  a  previous  degree  in  law. 

4.  The  fee  for  each  course  is  $25  ($12.50  each  for  courses  XIV. 
and  XV.),  payable  upon  enrolment. 

5.  The  fee  for  the  Master's  diploma  is  $10. 

For  further  particulars  address  the  Registrar,  University  Build- 
ing, "Washington  Square,  East. 

courses  for  the  year  1899-1900. 
October  to  May. 

I.  —  Historical  and  Analytical  Jurisprudence.  Professor 
Russell.     Thursdays  at  5  P.M. 

The  course  in  Analytical  Jurisprudence  is  devoted  to  an  exam- 
ination of  those  philosophical  conceptions  which  underlie  all  legal 
systems,  and  includes  a  critical  discussion  of  the  views  of  Bentham 
and  Austin.  Historical  jurisprudence  is  taught  both  by  text-books 
and  lectures,  and  embraces  a  consideration  of  the  principal  topics 
treated  in  the  works  of  Sir  Henry  Sumner  Maine.  Monographs 
are  required  to  be  written  during  the  year. 

II.  —  Roman  Law  (English  course).  Professor  E.  G.  Sihler. 
Tuesdays  at  4  P.M. 

A  course  of  lectures  with  frequent  examinations,  giving  an   out- 


THE    WOMAN  LAWYER.  199 

line  of  Gaius  and  Justinian's  Institutes  of  the  Civil  Law.  Famil- 
iarity with  the  terms  and  definitions  and  principles  of  the  Roman 
law  will  be  aimed  at  throughout.  The  influence  of  the  Roman 
law  upon  our  law  of  Bailments,  Boundaries,  and  Accretion,  Mar- 
riage, Legitimacy,  Adoption,  Guardianship,  Testation,  and  Inheri- 
tance is  traced. 

III.  —  Roman  Law  (Latin  Course).  Professor  E.  G.  Sihler. 
Tuesdays  at  5  P.M. 

Reading  of  the  original  text  of  Justinian's  Institutes,  with  fre- 
quent references  to  the  parallels  or  divergences  of  the  text  of 
Gaius  and  presentation  of  select  titles  from  the  Digest  of  Justinian's 
Commission  and  from  the  Codex  Constitutionum. 

IV. — Advanced  Constitutional  Law.  Professor  Russell. 
Mondays,  5  to  6  P.M. 

The  United  States  Constitution,  its  development  and  construc- 
tion by  judicial  decision,  will  be  the  subject  of  this  course.  Orig- 
inal investigation  with  class-room  discussion  is  required  of  those 
taking  these  lectures. 

V.  —  International  Law.  Mr.  Alfred  Opdyke.  Fridays,  4  to 
6  P.M. 

The  course  will  involve  a  discussion  of  Snow's  Cases  on  Inter- 
national LaAv.     Original  investigation  will  also  be  required. 

VI.  — Advanced  Studies  and  Exercises  in  Pleading,  and 
the  Election  of  Remedies.  Professor  Alden.  Thursdays  at  8 
P.M. 

This  course  consists  in  lectures  and  conferences  on  the  under- 
lying principles  which  affect  the  courses  of  pleading  in  the  most 
important  classes  of  civil  actions.  The  principles  of  pleading  are 
considered  in  their  application  to  the  most  frequent  difficulties ; 
the  distinction  between  Law  and  Equity,  under  the  Code ;  and  the 
policy  of  counsel  in  electing  between  different  actions  and  in  fram- 
ing the  complaint  and  the  answer,  and  in  choosing  the  remedy 
against  defective  pleadings  of  the  adverse  party ;  what  objections 
may  be  taken ;  and  which  by  demurrer ;  which  by  motion. 

It  will  also  include  conferences  on  the  drafting,  testing,  and 
criticising  of  pleadings,  in  the  most  common  classes  of  actions, 
such  as  present  questions  which  may  embarrass  the  practitioner. 
Especial  consideration  will  be  given  to  a  critical  examination  and 


200  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

analysis  of  the  essential  allegations  in  each  cause  of  action  dis- 
cussed, and  the  general  principles  of  pleading  involved  therein. 
The  course  aims  to  make  clear  the  application  of  general  prin- 
ciples to  actual  cases  most  frequently  occurring  in  the  daily  ex- 
perience of  practitioner  or  clerk,  and  to  aid  him  in  arranging  his 
facts  and  determining  the  character  of  the  action ;  in  drafting  the 
charge  or  defence,  etc.,  and  testing  the  case  of  his  adversary.  The 
exercises  will  be  closely  analagous  to  the  practitioner's  labor  in  . 
extracting  the  controlling  and  material  facts  from  the  client's  state- 
ment and  presenting  them  in  their  proper  legal  aspect. 

VII.  —  Advanced  Studies  and  Exercises  in  Evidence. 
Professor  0.  C.  Alden.     Mondays  at  8  P.M. 

In  this  course  principles  of  the  law  of  Evidence  are  deduced 
from  the  actual  practice  of  American  courts  to-day,  and  the  recent 
great  advance  is  illustrated  in  Selected  Cases  ;  the  reasons  for  the 
rules  now  applied  by  the  courts  are  traced  in  the  various  depart- 
ments of  testimony,  documents,  opinion  evidence,  and  realistic  or 
immediate  evidence ;  the  doctrine  of  presumptions  and  burden  of 
proof  as  now  developed  is  considered. 

The  course  also  includes  the  trial  of  supposed  cases  and  the 
presentment  of  evidence  before  a  supposed  referee,  embodying  a 
practical  application  of  rules  and  principles  of  evidence  to  the 
examination  and  cross-examination  of  witnesses,  the  framing  of 
questions  and  objections,  the  making  of  offers  of  evidence,  and  the 
taking  of  exceptions. 

The  aim  of  the  course  will  be  to  secure  to  the  trial  lawyer  a  use- 
ful familiarity  with  the  rules  and  principles  governing  those  ques- 
tions of  evidence  most  frequently  contested  during  the  progress  of 
the  trial,  and  to  aid  in  acquiring  the  readiness  necessary  in  their 
application'. 

VIII.  —  Preparation  for  Trial,  and  the  Trial  of  Civil 
Actions.     Professor  Alden.     Mondays  at  5  P.M. 

This  course  consists  of  lectures  and  analyses  of  cases  on  those 
principles  of  law  and  rules  of  procedure,  both  of  general  and  local 
application,  which  influence  the  policy  of  counsel  in  making  prepa- 
ration for  and  in  conducting  the  trial  of  civil  actions. 

Particular  attention  will  be  given  to  a  consideration  of  the  proper 
marshalling  an  1  presentation  of  the  evidence  at  counsel's  command 
and  the  trial  practice  before  referees,  jury,  and  court  without  a 
jury;  the   course  will   also  include  conferences  upon  what  is  in 


THE    WOMAN  LAWYER.  201 

issue  under  the  pleadings ;  what  forms  of  denial  are  effectual,  and 
what  ineffectual ;  what  may  be  proved  under  the  general  denial;  pre- 
liminary conferences  with  witnesses ;  the  determination  of  the 
mode  of  trial ;  stipulations  as  to  evidence ;  use  of  depositions  ;  what 
objections  are  waived  by  going  on;  motions  for  non-suit;  direction 
of  a  verdict ;  findings,  requests  to  find,  and  exceptions ;  motions 
for  a  new  trial ;  discretionary  powers  of  the  judge ;  shaping  record 
for  anticipated  appeal,  etc. 

IX.  —  Surrogate's  Court  Practice.  Professor  I.  F.  Russell. 
Tuesdays  at  5  P.M. 

This  course  consists  of  the  study  of  the  successive  steps  in  the 
probate  of  wills,  in  obtaining  letters  of  administration  and  in 
the  appointment  of  guardians,  beginning  with  the  petition 
and  citation  and  continuing  through  all  stages  of  administration 
until  final  accounting.  It  is  believed  that  the  course  will  be  found 
the  very  best  preparation  for  original  work  in  this  important  and 
growing  department  of  professional  business,  and  will  lead  the 
student  to  a  better  grasp  than  he  could  otherwise  get  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  succession  and  administration,  including  the  rights  and 
the  duties  of  executors,  administrators,  and  guardians. 

X.  —  Trusts.  Professor  Kenneson.  Saturdays,  4  to  6  P.M. 
Ames's  Cases  on  Trusts.  This  course  will  begin  October  7  and  con- 
tinue to  about  May  10. 

XI.  —  Corporations.  Prof.  Charles  F.  Bostwick.  Wednesdays 
at  5  P.M. 

This  course  is  designed  to  give  to  the  student  and  practitioner 
a  practical  knowledge  of  the  forming,  advising,  and  dissolving  of 
the  corporations,  together  with  the  rights  and  liabilities  of  their 
directors  and  stockholders,  as  well  as  all  matters  that  are  apt  to 
arise  in  the  practice  of  corporation  law,  including  taxation  and  the 
making  of  reports  therefor,  the  keeping  of  minutes,  the  holding  of 
meetings,  etc.,  and  advising  foreign  corporations  how  to  comply 
with  the  New  York  law. 

The  method  of  instruction  is  similar  to  that  adopted  by  Professor 
Bostwick  in  the  course  in  Special  Statutory  Procedure,  and,  like 
that  one,  is  designed  to  be  essentially  practical. 

XII.  —  Special  Statutory  Procedure,  with  Particular 
Reference  to  the  New  York  Code  of  Civil  Procedure.  Prof. 
Charles  F.  Bostwick.     Tuesdays  at  8  P.M. 


202  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

The  object  of  this  course  is  to  assist  practitioners  and  students 
in  understanding  the  practical  details  of  regular  procedure  in  the 
most  important  matters  in  which  prompt  action  on  the  part  of 
attorneys  is  often  unexpectedly  required;  and  to  aid  them,  by  a 
preparatory  study  of  the  technical  details  in  course,  to  avoid  the 
traps  and  pitfalls  which  lurk  in  statutory  procedure. 

The  subjects  pursued  include  Assignments  for  the  Benefit  of 
Creditors,  with  all  the  proceedings  consequent  through  final  ac- 
counting ;  Inquisition  of  Lunacy  and  Appointment  of  Committee ; 
Partition  and  Sale ;  Foreclosure  and  Reference  as  to  Surplus ; 
Calendar  Practice;  Mechanics'  Liens  and  Foreclosure  thereof; 
Discovery  and  Inspection ;  Examination  before  Trial ;  Attachment 
and  the  other  Provisional  Remedies,  etc. ;  Costs  and  Taxation 
thereof,  and  Appeals. 

Each  subject  is  completed  in  one  or  two  evenings,  as  the  subject 
requires  ;  and  the  course  is  essentially  practical.  The  method  pur- 
sued includes  the  distribution  of  copies  of  original  papers  in  actual 
cases,  and  criticism  thereon. 

XIII. — Patents,  Copyrights,  Trademarks.  Mr.  James  L. 
Steuart.     Fridays  at  5  P.M. 

In  this  course  is  considered  the  procedure  incident  to  the  grant 
by  the  United  States  Government  of  Patents  for  Inventions  and 
Discoveries,  Copyrights,  and  the  Registration  of  Trademarks  ;  the 
nature  of  the  property  rights  acquired  by  such  grant  or  registra- 
tion, and  the  remedies  for  their  infringement. 

The  successive  steps  in  the  procedure,  including  the  practice  in 
the  United  States  Patent  Office  and  the  United  States  Courts,  is 
exemplified  by  the  use  of  approved  forms ;  and  the  subjects  of  in- 
vention and  discovery  are  illustrated  by  models  of  apparatus,  and 
that  of  trademarks  by  a  collection  of  trademarks. 

XIV.  —  Fire  Insurance,  with  Special  Reference  to  the 
Interpretation  of  the  Standard  Policy,  the  Effect  of  the 
Written  Clauses.  A  half-year  course.  Thursdays  at  4.30  to 
5.30  P.M.     Morris  Putnam  Stevens. 

In  this  course  special  attention  will  be  given  to  the  legal  con- 
struction and  application  of  the  various  provisions  of  the  Standard 
Fire  Insurance  Policy,  together  with  the  powers,  duties,  rights,  and 
obligations  of  Fire  Insurance  Agents  and  Brokers.  The  subject 
will  be  treated  in  an  essentially  practical  manner,  and  for  the  clear 
and  concise  presentation  thereof  use  will  be  made  of  the  various 


THE    WOMAN  LAWYER.  203 

blank  forms,  including  stock  policy,  survey,  proof  of  loss,  agree- 
ment for  submission  to  appraisal,  mortgagee  clauses  ;  unoccupancy, 
gasoline,  and  other  privilege  clauses,  etc.,  now  in  general  use  by 
insurance  companies. 

XV.  — LirE  Insurance,  including  Health,  and  Casualty  or 
Accident  Insurance.  A  half-year  course.  Thursdays  at  4.30  to 
5.30  P.M.     Morris  Putnam  Stevens. 

This  course  takes  up  the  instruments  in  actual  use,  considers  the 
application,  the  various  forms  of  policies,  representations,  war- 
ranties, insurable  interest,  premium,  assessments,  proofs,  per- 
formance of  contract,  forfeiture,  waiver,  limitations,  assignments, 
etc.  Defines  the  powers,  duties,  rights,  and  obligations  of  the  in- 
sured, the  beneficiary,  the  company  and  its  agents,  and  discusses 
the  general  principles  of  the  law  of  Life,  Health,  and  Accident 
Insurance,  explaining  them  by  their  actual  application  in  business 
and  litigation. 

Also  connected  with  the  New  York  University,  but 
entirely  distinct  from  the  regular  law  school,  is  "The 
Woman's  Law  Class."  In  this  excellent  school,  which 
is  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Isaac  Franklin  Russell, 
one  of  the  professors  in  the  law  school,  no  pretence  is 
made  of  training  women  for  practice,  nor  for  admission 
to  the  bar ;  they  are  simply  taught  the  principles  of  law, 
and  to  guard  their  own  rights  and  property.  It  is  a 
Chair  of  the  University  endowed  by  the  Woman's  Legal 
Education  Society,  which,  in  the  language  of  Mrs.  L. 
G-.  Smith,  one  of  the  graduates  of  the  school,  was 
"  started  as  an  organization  by  Mrs.  Leonard  Weber,  of 
New  York,  its  present  president,  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  the  poor,  both  men  and  women,  in  guarding 
their  rights  and  protecting  their  interests.  Her  sym- 
pathies were  excited  by  the  frequent  appeals  made  by 
the  poor,  for  advice  in  their  troubles,  to  her  husband, 
whose  position  as  a  physician  made  him  cognizant  of 
much  of  the  injustice  which  they  suffer,  owing  to  their 
ignorance  of  their  rights  and  duties. 


204  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

"  Dr.  Emily  Kempin,  of  the  University  of  Zurich,  who 
came  to  New  York  to  practise  and  teach  law,  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  new  society,  but  owing  to  the  fact 
that  Dr.  Kempin  was  an  alien,  and  not  admitted  to 
practice  in  this  State,  it  was  found  necessary  to  give  the 
place  to  a  native  lawyer.  Successive  young  lawyers 
presented  themselves,  but  owing,  partly,  perhaps,  to  the 
unremunerative  character  of  the  work,  the  post  was  not 
successfully  filled.  It  was  then  that  Dr.  Kempin  con- 
ceived the  idea  of  educating  women,  who  might  be 
willing  to  assist  in  the  work  of  righting  the  wrongs  of 
their  unfortunate  fellow  beings,  and  at  the  same  time 
reap  the  intellectual  benefit  to  themselves. 

"  The  society  was  accordingly  organized  and  incorpo- 
rated in  1890,  under  its  present  name  of  the  Woman's 
Legal  Education  Society,  and  its  objects  are  clearly 
stated  in  the  following  clause  of  its  By-laws,  Article  2: 
'  The  object  of  this  society  is  to  facilitate  the  study  of 
law  by  women,  both  as  professional  students  and  also  as 
amateurs  interested  in  law,  as  a  subject  of  general  in- 
tellectual culture,  and  also  for  the  sake  of  practical 
guidance  in  personal  and  business  affairs.' 

"  At  this  point  the  new  organization  looked  about  for 
protection  and  support  from  some  of  the  already  estab- 
lished educational  societies,  and  by  the  able  assistance 
of  the  present  Chancellor,  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  MacCracken, 
the  University  of  New  York  agreed  to  assume  this  re- 
sponsibility. It  was  to  allow  Dr.  Kempin  to  deliver  in 
their  building  a  course  of  lectures  to  women,  who  did 
not  formally  enter  the  other  courses  of  University 
work,  and  hence  were  known  as  'non-matriculants,' 
under  the  protection  and  sanction  of  the  University,  and 
announced  in  their  catalogues.  Ten  prominent  ladies  of 
the  new  society  agreed  to  pay  each  one  hundred  dollars 
per  year  for  four  years,  to  meet  the  salary  of  the  lecturer. 


THE    WOMAN  LAWYER.  205 

"  This  proved  the  entering  wedge,  which  a  year  later 
resulted  in  the  opening  of  the  law  classes  proper  of  the 
University  to  men  and  women  alike. 

"At  the  close  of  Dr.  Kempin's  first  year  of  highly 
successful  work  as  a  lecturer,  which,  by  the  way,  I 
believe  was  the  first  instance  of  a  woman  lecturer  on 
law  in  any  university  since  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
a  woman  held  that  position  in  the  famous  University  of 
Bologna,  Dr.  Kempin  was  obliged  to  return  to  her  home 
at  Berne.  The  following  autumn  the  University  pro- 
vided a  professor  from  its  own  staff,  Dr.  Tiedeman,  who 
filled  the  chair  with  great  satisfaction,  during  one 
season.  For  two  years  past  the  post  has  been  most  ably 
filled  by  its  present  occupant,  Prof.  Isaac  F.  Russell,  who 
occupies  a  prominent  place  on  the  University  staff,  and 
who  by  his  thorough  and  broad  presentation  of  the  sub- 
ject, and  attractive  style  of  address,  has  rendered  the 
class  a  source  of  pleasure,  as  well  as  great  intellectual 
profit. 

"  The  course  of  forty-eight  lectures,  now  drawing  to  a 
close,  completes  the  fourth  year  of  the  work,  and  has  so 
thoroughly  proved  the  wisdom  of  its  progenitors  that  at 
a  recent  meeting  of  the  Directors  the  pledge  of  funds 
to  sustain  the  work  was  renewed.  The  lectures  are 
divided  into  four  courses,  of  twelve  each,  held  on  three 
mornings  of  each  week,  Mondays,  Wednesdays,  and 
Fridays,  beginning  in  November  and  continuing  until 
April.  Each  lecture  is  repeated  on  the  evening  of  the 
same  day  for  the  benefit  of  those  women  who  are  unable 
to  attend  the  day  courses. 

"The  fees  are  $6  for  each  of  the  four  courses,  or  $20 
for  the  whole,  and  are  merely  nominal  when  one  con- 
siders the  immense  amount  of  work  accomplished.  There 
are  ten  entirely  free  and  twenty  half-free  scholarships, 
which  are  presented  by  the  Legal  Education  Society  to 


206  HELPS  FOE  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

women  desirous  of  obtaining  this  splendid  opportunity, 
and  who  may  be  unable  to  pay  the  fee. 

"  The  question  of  the  advisability  of  the  admission  of 
the  feminine  element  to  plead  in  our  courts  does  not 
enter  into  these  lectures  at  all,  as  they  are  directed 
entirely  to  the  enlightenment  of  each  woman,  in  just  the 
place  and  station  which  she  now  occupies,  not  to  the 
hope  of  revolutionizing  the  entire  sex  into  nineteenth- 
century  Portias,  as  some  seem  to  imagine.  That  this 
course  is  valuable  as  a  stepping-stone  toward  a  future 
thorough  legal  education  is  already  proved,  and  a  number 
of  women  have  gone  on  from  this  beginning  to  complete 
a  full  course  in  the  law  school  proper,  and  have  earned 
high  honors  in  competition  with  the  men  with  whom 
they  have  studied. 

"  It  simply  means  that  an  opportunity  is  at  last  open 
to  intelligent  women,  who  have  no  time  to  spend  on  long, 
tiresome  years  of  legal  study,  to  obtain  a  general,  ac- 
curate, and  livable  knowledge  of  the  history  of  our 
nation,  State,  politics,  laws,  and  rights,  at  the  outlay  of 
a  few  dollars,  and  three  hours  of  time  per  week. 

u  The  first  course  as  now  presented  begins  with  a  gen- 
eral history  of  the  origin  and  evolution  of  law,  public 
and  private,  in  war  and  peace ;  studies  on  our  Constitu- 
tion, its  development  and  what  it  means  to  each  of  us, 
and  an  enlightenment  on  many  of  the  vexed  questions 
of  our  judicial  system.  This  gives  an  intelligent  ground- 
work upon  which  to  build  the  superstructure  of  the  fol- 
lowing courses,  which  treat  of  law  as  more  directly 
applied  to  the  individual,  to  us  and  our  interests:  the 
legal  relation  between  husband  and  wife,  parent  and  child, 
master  and  servant,  wills  and  succession,  and  a  multitude 
of  subjects  which  at  best  are  very  hazy  and  vague  in  the 
mind  of  even  the  most  enlightened  women  of  the  day, 
who  have  had  no  opportunity  to  study  the  matter. 


THE    WOMAN   LAWYER.  ^07 

"  In  the  third,  course  the  question  of  contracts,  both  of 
marriage  and  of  the  more  material  business  world,  are 
carefully  studied;  of  agents,  partners,  copyrights, 
patents,  etc.,  etc.,  all  presented,  not  in  a  dry,  formal  man- 
ner, but  imbued  with  a  lively  interest  which  cannot  fail 
to  entertain  as  well  as  instruct. 

"  Investments,  real  estate,  leases,  mortgages,  damages 
and  torts,  and  even  pleading  and  evidence,  form  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  the  last  course.  Each  of  the  lectures  is 
prefaced  by  a  "quiz,"  in  which  those  who  desire  may 
partake,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  there  is  an  examina- 
tion held  under  the  patronage  of  the  University,  for 
those  who  have  taken  the  entire  course,  and  who  wish 
to  avail  themselves  of  this  opportunity  for  review.  For 
the  successful  passing  of  this  examination,  the  Univer- 
sity presents  a  certificate,  and  a  prize  scholarship  is 
awarded  to  the  student  whose  paper  ranks  first. 

"  During  the  transition  period  next  winter,  while  a  new 
building  is  replacing  the  old,  the  law  class  for  women 
will  be  continued  in  a  church  adjoining  the  University, 
till  the  new  building  shall  be  ready.  The  entire  legal 
department  is  to  remain  in  the  new  structure  on  the  old 
site,  not  following  the  other  branches  of  instruction  to 
the  new  University,  which  is  to  be  erected  on  University 
Heights,  Harlem. 

"  The  classes  have  been  composed  of  women  of  varied 
types  and  ideas,  all  united  in  an  earnest  desire  to  avail 
themselves  of  this  grand  opportunity.  Mothers  come  to 
eat  of  this  tree  of  knowledge,  to  better  fit  themselves  to 
train  the  young  minds  committed  to  their  care  into  in- 
telligent citizens ;  business  women  to  enlarge  their  pow- 
ers, by  a  fuller  understanding  of  the  laws  which  govern 
the  business  world ;  and  others  purely  for  the  personal 
satisfaction  which  accrues  from  a  higher  intellectual 
development. 


208  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

"  In  the  words  of  Judge  Noah  Davis,  who  recently  ably 
addressed  the  alumnae  of  this  Woman's  Law  Class  :  '  The 
women  of  New  York,  in  organizing  the  first  woman's  law 
class  in  America,  have  taken  an  initial  step  in  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  higher  education  and  enlightenment  of 
their  sex,  and  as  its  power  for  good  becomes  known, 
similar  societies  will  spring  up  throughout  the  whole 
United  States,  spreading  in  benefit  and  influence,  like 
the  pebble  thrown  into  the  pool,  creating  the  ripple, 
which  grows  broader  and  broader  until  it  spreads  from 
shore  to  shore.' " 

The  paper  by  Mrs.  Smith  from  which  this  description 
of  the  work  of  the  Woman's  Law  Class  is  taken  has 
been  incorporated  in  the  school's  prospectus,  and  is  so 
given  official  sanction.  You  cannot  become  a  lawyer  by 
joining  this  class,  but  you  can  prepare  yourself  for  the 
judicious  management  of  the  property  that  industry  or 
fate  puts  into  your  hands. 

"Learning  is  but  an  adjunct  to  ourself." 

Shakespeare. 


IN  OFFICE  AND  IN   COURT.  209 


CHAPTEK  XIV. 


IN    OFFICE    AND    IN    COURT. 


It  is  a  secret  worth  knowing,  that  lawyers  rarely  go  to 
law.  —  Moses  Crowell. 

Lawyers'  gowns  are  lined  with  the  wilfulness  of  their 
clients.  —  Parson. 

To  succeed  as  a  lawyer  a  man  must  work  like  a  horse 
and  live  like  a  hermit.  —  Lord  Eldon. 

A  lawyer  is  one  who  rescues  your  estate  from  your 
enemy,  and  keeps  it  himself.  —  Bridaine. 

As  to  lawyers,  their  profession  is  supported  by  the 
indiscriminate  defence  of  right  and  wrong.  —  Junius. 

A  lawyer,  by  the  sacred  duty  he  owes  his  client,  knows 
but  one  person  in  the  world  —  that  client  and  no  other. 

—  Brougham. 

The  lawyer  who  pleads  in  a  wrong  matter  chooses 
rather  to  forget  the  truth  than  lose  his  client's  friendship. 

—  R.  Field. 

It  is  the  business  of  a  lawyer  to  find  a  hole  to  creep 
out  of  any  law  that  is  in  his  way ;  and  if  there  is  no 
hole,  to  make  one.  —  Sir  W.  Ouseley. 

Among  other  amiable  weaknesses  lawyers  have  this 
one,  of  commencing  to  sum  up  a  case  by  telling  the  jury 


210  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

that  the  merits  of  a  cause  lie  in  a  nutshell,  and  then 
going  on  to  argue  for  hours  to  prove  it.  —  Bovee. 

Without  lawyers  it  would  be  necessary  that  every  per- 
son engaged  in  a  law-suit  should  be  his  own  advocate, 
which  would  expose  him  to  many  evils.  —  T.  Dwight. 

The  wisest  are  always  the  readiest  to  acknowledge 
that  soundly  to  judge  of  a  law  is  the  weightiest  thing 
which  any  man  can  take  upon  him.  —  Hooker. 

The  plaintiff  and  defendant  in  an  action  at  law  are 
two  men  ducking  their  heads  in  a  bucket,  and  daring  each 
other  to  remain  longest  under  water.  —  Dr.  Johnson. 

The  rusty  curb  of  old  father  antic  —  the  law.  —  Fal- 
staff. 

The  Finger  Pillory  deserves  a  word.  It  was  fixed  up 
inside  churches  and  halls.  Boys  who  misbehaved  during 
service,  and  offenders  at  festive  times  against  the  mock 
reign  of  the  lord  of  misrule,  alike  expiated  their  offences 
therein.  —  Francis  Watt. 

A  felon  who  "  prayed  his  clergy "  was,  during  some 
centuries,  branded  on  the  crown  of  his  thumb  with  the 
letter  T,  ere  he  was  released,  to  prevent  a  second  use  of 
the  plea.  This  was  called,  in  popular  slang,  the  Tyburn 
T.  Ben  Jonson  was  so  branded  in  1598  for  killing 
Gabriel  Spencer,  the  actor,  in  a  duel.  —  Francis  Watt. 

Another  striking  feature  of  trials  at  law  is  the  appar- 
ent equality  of  the  contest.  An  unsophisticated  observer 
would  suppose  that  as  one  side  must  be  right  and  the 
other  must  be  wrong,  it  would  clearly  and  speedily  ap- 
pear which  is  right  and  which  is  wrong.     But  two  skilful 


IN  OFFICE  AND  IN  COURT.  211 

lawyers  are  like  two  experts  at  any  game  of  skill  or 
endurance,  and  the  result  is  that  the  clearest  case  be- 
comes at  least  somewhat  doubtful,  and  the  event  quite 
problematical.  The  arguments  on  both  sides  seem  irre- 
fragable as  they  are  separately  presented.  The  advo- 
cates elude  one  another's  grasp  like  weasels.  They  are 
lubricated  all  over  with  the  oil  of  sophistry  and  rhetoric. 
It  is  quite  as  difficult  to  put  forward  a  suggestion  that  is 
not  plausibly  answered  as  it  is  to  make  a  run  at  base- 
ball or  a  count  at  billiards  after  a  skilful  player  has  left 
the  balls  in  a  safe  position.  —  Irving  Browne. 

Advocacy  is  much  more  easy  than  impartiality ;  it  is 
almost  impossible  for  man  to  divest  himself  of  preju- 
dice, and  to  overcome  the  force  of  habit  and  education. 
There  is  only  one  judge  who  is  impartial,  and  even  He 
has  strong  leanings  against  the  wicked.  — Irving  Browne. 

It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  a  lawyer  always  labors 
for  the  interest  of  his  client ;  it  is  his  own  interest  he 
seeks,  and  rare  indeed  is  the  occasion  he  will  not  sacrifice 
his  client  if  he  can  put  money  into  his  own  pocket  by  so 
doing.  —  M.  Peck. 

Law,  like  orthodoxy  in  religion,  is  a  mystery  where 
reason  ends  and  faith  begins ;  none  of  the  uninitiated 
can  enter  even  the  vestibule  of  the  temple;  society 
knows  nothing  about  it,  but  by  means  of  the  lawyer.  — 
Cooper. 

A  lawyer  and  a  cart-wheel  must  be  greased.  —  Moser. 

Human  nature  is  alike  all  over  the  world,  in  all  times, 
in  all  stations.  Man  is  a  disputatious  animal,  and  log- 
ically die?  hard.  Therefore  we  must  not  blame  our 
judges  for  taking  sides.  —  Irving  Browne. 


212  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Let  a  comely  and  well-dressed  woman  enter  the  court- 
room, and  at  the  first  rustle  of  her  silken  gown  every 
man  present  seems  to  lose  his  head.  Talk  of  the  equality 
of  the  sexes  !  A  man  stands  no  more  chance  in  a  law- 
suit against  a  good-looking  woman,  especially  if  she  is  in 
weeds,  than  he  does  of  being  saved  without  repentance, 
or  of  being  elected  to  Congress  without  spending  money. 
—  Irving  Browne. 

Portia  would  have  been  even  more  potent  in  petti- 
coats. The  lawyer  who  should  undertake  to  cross-exam- 
ine a  woman  sharply  would  be  considered  a  brute.  Even 
to  ask  her  age  is  a  hazardous  experiment.  When  she 
testifies  to  hearsay,  or  what  she  said  herself,  or  what  she 
thought  or  thinks,  or  anything  else  improper,  the  judge 
merely  lays  down  his  pen  and  smiles,  and  the  jury  be- 
lieve every  word  of  it.  —  Irving  Browne. 

A  man  may  be  put  off  with  sixpence  ;  a  woman's  ver- 
dict always  carries  costs.  And  yet  the  women  are  try- 
ing to  break  this  spell  by  being  lawyers  and  jurymen ! 
It  would  not  surprise  me  if  they  should  succeed  in  get- 
ting hanged  if  they  accomplish  this  purpose.  The  charm 
of  their  unaccustomed  and  artless  presence  will  be  gone, 
and  if  they  demand  the  privilege  of  acting  like  men  they 
will  perhaps  be  treated  like  men.  —  Irving  Browne. 

Common  law  is  nothing  else  but  reason.  —  Coke. 

Laws  grind  the  poor,  and  rich  men  rule  the  law. 

Goldsmith. 

Lawyers'  houses  are  built  of  fools'  heads.  —  Vigee. 

It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  doctors  of  law  or  divin- 
ity  have  made  the  greatest  advances  in  the  lucrative 


IN   OFFICE  AND  IN  COURT.  213 

business  of  mystery.  The  lawyers,  as  well  as  the  theo- 
logians, have  erected  another  reason  besides  natural 
reason  ;  and  the  result  has  been  another  justice  besides 
natural  justice.  — Burke. 

The  law  is  peculiarly  a  bugbear  to  nervous  women. 
To  some  sickly  ladies  the  height  of  human  infelicity 
seems  to  be  an  imaginary  liability  to  be  dragged  to  the 
witness  stand.  They  know  they  never  could  live  through 
it.  We  often  wonder  that  their  husbands  do  not  con- 
trive to  have  them  subpoenaed  for  the  sake  of  the  experi- 
ment. —  Irving  Browne. 

But  on  more  familiar  acquaintance  these  horrors  wear 
away.  The  associations  of  the  court-room  are  apt  to 
degenerate  into  dulness,  and  its  visitants  are  more 
prone  to  gape  than  to  tremble ;  and  yet,  to  one  who  is  an 
habitual  frequenter  of  its  precincts,  its  lessons  are  not 
unmixed  with  the  humorous.  —  Irving  Browne. 

Let  us  imagine  this  superior  person,  man,  before 
marriage  thus  addressing  the  young  lady  whose  golden, 
raven,  or  ruby  hair,  as  the  case  may  be,  rests  confidingly 
on  his  manly  shoulder  :  "  My  heart's  adored,  I  know  the 
law  sets  me  a  hard  task,  but  for  your  sweet  sake  I  do 
not  shrink.  Your  property  will  become  mine,  it  is  true, 
and  you  will  be  dependent  on  my  bounty  for  every  penny 
that  finds  its  way  into  your  purse ;  if  you  make  any 
money  by  embroidery,  or  music  lessons,  or  keeping 
boarders,  that  too  will  be  mine;  and  if  any  of  your 
relatives  should  hereafter  will  you  anything  I  shall  be 
forced  to  confiscate  that  also.  But  just  see,  my  only 
love,  what  a  price  I  must  pay.  for  these  insignificant 
privileges.  Your  debts  I  must  cancel.  I  may  be  mulcted 
in  damages  for  your  assaults  and  slanders.  You  see 
what  risks  I  run."  —  Irving  Browne, 


214  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Law  is  real ;  and  law  's  expensive ; 

Special  pleading  ?s  not  its  goal ; 
Rhetoric  and  tape  make  pensive 

Many  a  weary  client's  soul. 

Irving  Browne. 

Of  course  it  is  conceded  that  as  a  class  we  are  utterly 
reprobate  and  given  over,  and  that  when  we  die  we  must 
nearly  all  of  us  go  to  the  bad.  However,  as  in  that 
event  we  shall  unquestionably  be  accompanied  by  a  vast 
majority  of  our  clients,  much  of  the  bitterness  of  that 
reflection  is  extracted.  —  Irving  Browne. 

Justice  discards  party,  friendship,  kindred,  and  is 
always  therefore  represented  as  blind.  —  Addison. 

It  behooves  us  always  to  bear  in  mind  that  while 
actions  are  always  to  be  judged  by  the  immutable  stand- 
ard of  right  and  wrong,  the  judgments  which  we  pass 
upon  men  must  be  qualified  by  considerations  of  age, 
country,  station,  and  other  accidental  circumstances  ;  and 
it  will  then  be  found  that  he  who  is  most  charitable  in 
his  judgment  is  generally  the  least  unjust.  —  Southey. 

It  is  related  of  some  French  judge,  who  was  remarked 
throughout  his  whole  practice  for  the  almost  infallible 
justice  of  his  decrees,  that  whenever  any  extraordinary 
case  occurred,  the  circumstances  of  which  were  so  per- 
plexed as  to  render  him  incapable  of  giving  a  decided 
opinion  in  favor  of  either  side  with  satisfaction  to  his 
own  conscience,  he  was  accustomed  to  retire  to  his 
closet,  and  refer  it  to.  the  final  decision  of  the  die. — 
Canning. 


DR.  GRACE   KIMBALL. 


THE    WOMAN  DOCTOR.  215 


CHAPTER   XV. 


THE    WOMAN    DOCTOR. 


"Nature  fits  all  her  children  with  something  to  do."  —  James  Ru$sell 
Lowell. 

It  is  not  every  girl,  no,  nor  one  out  of  every  hundred 
girls,  who  with  the  utmost  diligence  and  the  hardest 
work  can  make  a  doctor  of  herself.  But  that  fact  is  not 
discouraging,  because  ninety-nine  girls  in  a  hundred,  or 
nine  hundred  and  ninety-nine  in  a  thousand,  have  no 
desire  to  become  doctors.  If  only  one  in  a  million  were 
suited  to  the  work,  how  do  we  know  that  you  are  not  the 
one  ?  If  you  have  enough  of  a  leaning  toward  the  pro- 
fession to  make  inquiries  about  it  and  the  ways  of  fitting 
yourself  for  it,  that  in  itself  is  an  indication  that  you  do 
not  look  upon  it  with  dislike. 

The  sexes  stand  more  nearly  upon  an  equality  in  this 
than  in  any  other  of  the  learned  professions.  Though 
there  are  now  many  professions  that  require  great  learn- 
ing and  long  preparation,  the  three  that  are  commonly 
called  the  learned  professions  are  the  pulpit,  the  law, 
and  medicine.  In  the  pulpit  and  the  law  a  woman  does 
not  stand  an  equal  chance  with  a  man.  There  are  so  many 
reasons  for  this  that  if  I  were  to  try  to  state  them  in  this 
chapter  I  should  have  no  room  left  for  telling  you  about 
studying  medicine.  But  you  know  that  it  is  true,  and 
that  is  enough.  In  medicine,  however,  the  case  is  differ- 
ent. There  are  already  a  great  many  women  doctors, 
but  there  is  room  for  many  more.  Human  nature  has 
some  good  points  as  well  as  a  multitude  of  bad  ones,  and 


216  HELPS   FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

one  of  the  good  ones  is  that  it  is  slow  about  making  radi- 
cal changes.  If  this  were  otherwise  everything  would 
be  in  confusion  with  the  constant  changes.  We  have 
long  been  accustomed  to  believe  that  man  alone  knows 
how  to  cure  our  serious  ills.  Mother  was  very  good  to 
bandage  our  bruises  or  cure  our  headaches,  but  for  any 
serious  illness  the  doctor  must  be  called,  and  the  doctor 
was  a  man.  That  was  custom,  and  great  is  the  power  of 
custom. 

It  was  only  necessary  to  think  a  little  about  this  old 
notion  that  a  doctor  must  be  a  man  to  see  the  fallacy  of 
it.  Thousands  of  people  have  already  thought  about  it, 
and  more  and  more  people  are  thinking  about  it  every 
year ;  and  some  of  us  now  living  will  see  the  day  when 
there  will  be  a  thousand  women  doctors  to  everyone  now 
in  practice.  There  is  not  one  good  reason  why  men  only 
should  be  doctors,  but  there  are  hundreds  of  good  rea- 
sons why  women  should  be  doctors  also.  Indeed,  a  few 
generations  ago  there  were  more  women  doctors  than 
there  are  at  present,  and  we  are  not  taking  up  a  new 
idea,  but  going  back  to  first  principles,  with  many  im- 
provements. The  old-time  midwives  were  really  women 
doctors,  without  the  thorough  training  that  women  doc- 
tors have  now.  It  is  not  so  long  since  the  employment 
of  a  man  doctor  in  an  obstetrical  case  was  looked  upon 
by  the  public  with  horror.  The  first  men  doctors  who 
practised  that  branch  of  the  profession  came  near  being 
mobbed.  They  were  beasts,  shameless  brutes,  so  people 
said,  and  both  they  and  their  patients  were  a  disgrace  to 
the  community. 

That  great  change  was  sure  to  come,  because  the  men 
doctors  knew  more  about  such  cases  than  the  midwives. 
They  were  better  taught,  better  trained,  and  the  patient's 
modesty  was  not  as  strong  as  the  desire  to  have  the  best 
available  help,  and  in  a  few  years  it  became  customary 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  217 

to  have  men  doctors,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  the  custom  it 
was  right.  But  now  another  change  is  coming  gradually 
upon  us,  through  the  professional  training  of  women. 
Now  the  patient  can  have  a  doctor  of  her  own  sex  in 
whose  hands  she  is  as  safe  as  in  any  man's. 

If  we  all  had  as  much  good  sense  as  we  might  have 
there  would  not  be  the  least  question  of  sex  between 
physician  and  patient.  We  should  take  the  damaged 
body  to  the  doctor  to  be  repaired  as  freely  as  we  take 
the  broken  clock  to  the  clockmaker  to  be  mended.  But 
we  might  as  well  say  that  if  the  world  were  what  it  ought 
to  be  there  would  be  no  thieves.  There  are  thieves,  and 
there  is  a  natural  repugnance  on  the  part  of  a  man  to 
unfold  his  ailings  to  a  woman,  or  a  woman  to  a  man. 
Woman  has  for  a  long  time  been  compelled  to  go  to  man 
for  her  repairs,  because  the  doctors  were  nearly  all  men. 
It  was  often  unpleasant  for  her,  but  there  was  no  help 
for  it.  Now  there  is  a  help  for  it,  because  women  are 
professionally  as  well  trained  as  men. 

It  is  entirely  fair  for  you  to  take  advantage  of  that 
trait  of  human  nature  which  leads  us  to  choose  the  more 
pleasant  of  two  things.  When  the  same  end  may  be 
gained  in  two  ways,  one  more  pleasant  than  the  other, 
we  take  the  more  pleasant.  You  and  I  admire  the  pluck 
of  a  person  who  goes  to  the  dentist's  and  has  two  or 
three  back  teeth  pulled  without  flinching,  but  when  we 
go  ourselves  we  take  a  little  nitrous  oxide  gas  to  avoid 
the  pain.  We  are  sure  to  do  it,  as  everybody  is  sure  to 
take  the  more  pleasant  of  two  roads  leading  to  the  same 
place.  It  is  more  agreeable  for  woman  patients  to  go  to 
women  doctors,  and  as  soon  as  custom  allows  them  to 
have  equal  faith  in  the  doctors  in  skirts,  they  will  go 
to  them.  Your  granddaughters  will  be  putting  their 
hands  over  their  faces  some  time  and  asking  one  another, 
"  Must  n't  it  have  been  dreadful,  in  those  old  times,  about 


218  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

1900,  when  women  had  to  go  to  men  doctors  with  their 
ailments ! " 

If  we  could  be  as  sure  that  the  medical  profession 
needs  you  as  we  are  that  the  world  needs  women  doctors 
we  should  have  a  plain  case.  You  may  be  very  deeply 
impressed  with  the  value  of  woman  to  the  profession 
without  having  any  natural  aptitude  for  it  yourself.  I 
call  it  a  natural  aptitude  simply  for  convenience,  though 
I  do  not  believe  that  nature  usually  has  half  as  much  to 
do  with  it  as  circumstances.  The  little  innocent,  beauti- 
ful squalling  baby  one  day  old  is  about  the  same  article 
in  one  part  of  the  world  as  another,  is  it  not  ?  The  one 
that  happens  to  gladden  Germany  with  its  presence  be- 
comes a  great  player  on  some  instrument,  and  we  say  of 
him  that  he  is  "  a  natural-born  musician."  Is  his  coun- 
terpart down  in  the  South  Sea  Islands  ever  a  "  natural- 
born  musician  "  ?  The  young  German  hears  good  music, 
hears  music  talked  about,  inhales  it,  enjoys  it.  The 
other  does  not  know  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
music  in  the  world.  So  the  surroundings  are  responsible, 
not  nature ;  but  call  it  what  you  will,  the  result  is  the 
same. 

You  must  have  a  liking  for  things  medical,  be  it 
natural  or  acquired.  Have  you  such  a  liking  ?  Do  you 
feel  that  in  time  you  can  take  such  an  interest  in  a 
patient's  twisted  spine  that  the  necessary  fees  will  be 
nothing  to  you  compared  with  the  professional  joy  of 
curing  it  ?  Would  you  give  soothing  attention  to  a  sick 
pauper  solely  for  the  sake  of  relieving  distress  ?  Would 
you  look  upon  a  broken  limb  straightly  mended  with  as 
much  pride  as  a  painter  takes  in  his  picture  ?  This  love 
of  the  work  is  as  necessary  in  a  woman  as  in  a  man.  Or 
let  us  rather  say  a  liking  for  the  work.  I  do  not  believe, 
with  some  good  people,  that  boy  or  girl  must  have  such 
a  burning  desire  for  a  certain  occupation  that  if  he  can- 


THE    WOMAN  DOCTOB.  219 

not  attain  it  he  will  lie  down  and  die  and  shrivel  np. 
Such  divine  calls  as  that  we  hear  about  sometimes,  but 
always  in  the  dim  distance,  never  where  we  can  lay  finger 
upon  them.  If  you  have  a  reasonable  honest  liking  for 
the  medical  profession  that  will  do  for  a  beginning. 

Have  you  such  an  honest  liking  for  it  ?  You  see  I 
have  you  in  the  class  now  and  am  privileged  to  ask 
questions.  How  do  you  know  that  you  have  a  liking  for 
it  ?  Do  you  know  what  it  is  that  you  have  a  liking  for  ? 
You  have  seen  the  doctor  make  up  his  little  powders, 
but  do  you  really  know  anything  about  the  work  of  the 
medical  profession?  Do  you  know  that  in  the  city  it 
means  almost  constant  confinement,  in  the  country  al- 
most constant  exposure  ?  And  that  it  requires  not  only 
a  healthy  body,  but  healthy  nerves  ?  Have  you  botli 
health  and  nerve  for  it  ?  That  is  an  all-important  ques- 
tion, and  one  that  you  should  not  undertake  to  answer 
without  assistance  from  your  parents  and  friends,  and 
your  own  doctor.  It  is  a  wonderfully  important  thing  in 
this  world  to  have  good  friends  competent  to  advise  you, 
and  to  have  the  sense  to  heed  their  advice.  I  heard  two 
men  talking  the  other  day  about  a  doctor  whom  I  know 
and  who  has  made  some  very  fortunate  business  ventures. 

"It  is  very  strange,"  one  said,  "that  Doctor  Blank, 
who  knows  nothing  whatever  about  business  affairs, 
should  always  be  so  successful  in  his  ventures." 

"  Well,"  the  other  replied,  u  it  's  true  that  the  doctor 
knows  nothing  about  business,  bat  he  has  friends  who  do 
know,  and  he  's  got  sense  enough  to  go  to  them  for  advice 
before  he  invests  his  money." 

Health  and  strength  are  of  more  importance  to  you  now 
than  nerve,  because  the  nerve  will  come  when  you  call 
it.  If  you  are  an  average  girl  you  have  at  least  as  much 
nerve  as  the  average  boy,  and  my  own  opinion  is  that 
you  have  more,  using  the  word  "  nerve  "  in  the  common 


220  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

sense  when  we  mean  grit.  To  take  you  into  the  operat- 
ing room  at  this  moment  and  let  you  assist  in  the  ampu- 
tation of  a  leg  would  be  a  great  shock  to  you,  as  indeed 
it  would  be  to  most  men.  But  if  you  shudder  at  the 
thought  of  it  you  need  not  consider  that  a  drawback. 
Any  person  who  is  not  familiar  with  the  surgeon's  knife 
shrinks  at  the  thought  of  it.  But  you  come  to  that  by 
easy  stages.  After  you  have  seen  a  few  stitches  taken 
in  a  cut  head  you  can  see  a  burn  dressed  without  alarm ; 
when  you  reach  the  knife  stage  you  will  find  that  it  will 
not  cut  you,  or  much  alarm  you.  You  will  gradually  be- 
come accustomed  to  it,  till  at  length  you  will  see  before 
you  an  artist  making  the  delicate  strokes  instead  of  a 
surgeon  cutting  his  patient ;  and  after  a  while  you  will 
be  making  the  delicate  strokes  yourself  without  a  tremor. 
Do  not  imagine  that  the  morgue-keeper  shudders  when 
he  handles  his  dead  bodies. 

Then,  if  you  are  satisfied  that  you  are  well  enough  and 
strong  enough  for  the  work,  you  must  inquire  of  yourself 
about  your  prospects  as  a  doctor.  What  are  the  particu- 
lar circumstances  in  your  case  that  are  to  give  you 
unusual  advantages  in  the  profession  ?  Yes,  unusual 
advantages,  if  you  please.  If  you  have  lived  all  your 
life,  so  far,  in  a  country  town,  and  your  family  live  there, 
and  are  well  and  favorably  known  there,  and  you  and 
they  have  many  good  friends,  and  perhaps  some  relations 
there,  and  there  seems  to  be  an  opening  in  the  place  for 
a  woman  doctor,  I  think  we  may  call  that  an  unusual 
advantage.  If  your  father  is  a  physician  in  good  prac- 
tice in  that  town,  that  is  an  advantage  still  more  unusual. 
Or  some  other  relative,  who  will  take  you  into  his  or  her 
office  as  a  student,  in  that  or  the  next  town,  or  the 
neighboring  city.  When  you  give  your  attention  to  it 
you  will  be  very  likely  to  find  that  you  have  an  unusual 
advantage  in  some  direction.    Do  not  deceive  yourself  by 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  221 

seeing  an  advantage  that  does  not  exist ;  bnt  when  you 
do  find  it,  take  hold  of  it.  There  is  no  other  profession 
in  which  you  will  so  much  need  some  special  advantage 
to  give  you  a  start.  "  Hit  him,  he  's  got  no  friends ! " 
applies  almost  literally  to  a  young  strange  doctor  in  a 
strange  place,  only  the  public  do  worse  than  hit  him, 
they  let  him  alone.  To  hit  him  would  only  be  to  insult 
him,  but  to  let  him  alone  is  to  starve  him.  With  great 
ability  you  may  in  time  build  up  a  practice  almost  any- 
where |  but  you  cannot  show  your  ability  until  you  have 
a  few  patients  to  show  it  to,  and  the  few  at  first  usually 
come  through  friends.  , 

The  preparation  necessary  for  the  practice  of  medicine 
is  long  and  hard,  but  no  longer  or  harder  than  it  should 
be  ;  and  it  is  exactly  the  same  for  a  woman  as  for  a  man. 
The  common-school  education  is  the  basis,  and  after  that 
preparatory  school  and  college  if  circumstances  make 
college  advisable.  The  collegiate  training  is  always 
desirable  for  a  physician,  though  it  is  not  always  neces- 
sary. If  a  college  course  threatens  to  consume  too  much 
of  your  time,  or,  as  is  more  likely,  too  much  of  your  own 
or  some  other  person's  money,  some  other  training,  such 
as  the  high  school  or  the  normal  school,  may  be  sub- 
stituted for  it.  In  all  medical  schools  you  must  present 
evidence  of  some  advanced  instruction.  A  degree  of  arts 
from  any  reputable  college  will  pass  you  without  ex- 
amination into  any  of  the  medical  colleges.  A  Regents' 
certificate  from  the  University  of  New  York  has  the 
same  effect.  Then  your  course  in  the  medical  school 
begins,  and  that  lasts  usually  through  four  years ;  and 
after  a  year  or  two  years,  possibly,  as  an  "  interne  n  in 
some  large  hospital  you  are  equipped  for  practice. 

There  is  no  lack  of  good  medical  schools  in  this 
country  in  which  women  may  acquire  professional  educa- 
tions.    The  Woman's  Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania 


222  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

(the  first  medical  college  in  the  world  regularly  organ- 
ized for  the  education  of  women  for  the  medical  profes- 
sion) was  founded  in  Philadelphia,  in  1850.  The 
Woman's  Medical  College  of  the  New  York  Infirmary- 
was  established  in  New  York  City  in  1865.  Women  are 
also  received  in  medical  schools  in  Chicago,  Baltimore, 
Buffalo,  Syracuse,  and  Cincinnati,  at  Johns  Hopkins 
University,  Cornell  University,  Universities  of  Michigan 
and  California,  and  in  many  others.  Following  is  an 
outline  of  the  course  of  study  in  the  first  named  of  these 
institutions,  with  full  information  concerning  the  regu- 
lations and  expenses : 

WOMAN'S  MEDICAL  COLLEGE  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

The  course  of  instruction  in  this  school  continues  through  four 
college  years,  and  is  given  by  means  of  lectures,  demonstrations, 
laboratory  work,  recitations,  and  clinical  teaching  so  arranged  as  to 
constitute  a  progressive  course  of  study  and  practical  work. 

The  didactic  instruction  of  the  former  three-years'  course,  some- 
what increased,  is  distributed  over  four  years,  the  additional  in- 
struction being  mainly  of  a  clinical  and  demonstrative  character. 
In  addition  to  attendance  on  the  regular  didactic  and  clinical  lect- 
ures, the  requirements  include  recitations  on  the  subjects  of  the 
professors'  lectures  ;  practical  work  in  the  chemical,  pharmaceuti- 
cal, anatomical,  histological,  embryological,  physiological,  patho- 
logical, and  bacteriological  laboratories  ;  attendance  upon  operative 
and  other  practical  courses  in  surgery,  obstetrics  and  gynaecology, 
physical  diagnosis,  and  special  clinical  class- work. 

TERMS    OF    ADMISSION. 

Applicants  for  admission  to  the  regular  college  course  must  be 
not  less  than  eighteen  years  of  age  and  must  pass  a  preliminary 
examination  on  the  following  subjects  : 

English,  (a)  The  writing  of  a  passage  to  dictation ;  (J)  the 
composition  of  an  essay  (one  foolscap  page  in  length)  on  a  given 
theme  ;  (c)  the  denning  of  some  common  English  words. 

Arithmetic.     Fractions,  percentage,  and  the  metric  system. 

Algebra.     Through  quadratics. 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  223 

Physics.  An  amount  equal  to  that  presented  in  Avery's 
Elements  of  Natural  Philosophy. 

Latin.  An  amount  equivalent  to  that  given  in  Harkness's  Latin 
Reader,  exclusive  of  Latin  composition. 

Equivalents  accepted  as  substitutes  for  the  entrance  examina- 
tion : 

(a.)     A  Degree  in  Arts  from  any  college  in  good  standing. 

(i.)  A  Regents'  certificate  of  the  University  of  the  State  of 
New  York. 

(c.)  A  certificate  of  having  passed  the  examination  preliminary 
to  the  study  of  medicine  required  by  the  present  Medical  Act  of 
Canada. 

(d.)  A  diploma  or  certificate  from  any  school  of  good  standing 
or  a  teacher's  certificate  from  a  county  superintendent  of  schools. 

The  above  credentials  are  accepted  so  far  as  they  state  profi- 
ciency in  the  subjects  of  the  required  entrance  examinations. 

[According  to  a  recent  law  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  an  examination  on 
the  following  subjects  will  be  required  as  a  preliminary  to  matriculation  of 
students  desiring  to  qualify  for  the  State  Examination:  arithmetic  through 
cube  root;  grammar,  including  the  analysis  of  easy  sentences ;  orthography  and 
English  composition ;  geography,  including  the  elements  of  physical  geography ; 
American  history,  with  special  attention  to  the  history  of  Pennsylvania. 

For  information  as  to  time  and  place  of  examination  and  substitutes  accepted, 
application  should  be  made  to  Hon.  James  W.  Latta,  Secretary  of  the  Medical 
Council  of  Pennsylvania,  Harrisburg.] 

Applicants  for  admission  who  take  the  State  Examination  will 
be  excused  from  the  corresponding  branches  in  the  college  examina- 
tion. 

No  examination  is  required  of  applicants  for  admission  to  special 
courses  who  are  not  intending  to  apply  for  the  degree  in  medicine. 
On  application,  an  entrance  examination  will  be  given  in  any  part 
of  the  country  so  far  distant  from  Philadelphia  as  to  make  it  desira- 
ble, provided  suitable  arrangements  for  conducting  such  an  ex- 
amination can  be  made. 

Applicants  for  admission  to  the  college  after  the  entrance  ex- 
aminations in  October  whose  preliminary  education  is,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  Faculty,  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  undertake 
the  work  of  the  first  year  with  advantage,  may  be  matriculated  pro- 
visionally and  attend  the  course  on  probation,  but  will  be  re- 
quired to  present  themselves  at  the  next  following  entrance  exam- 
ination. 


224  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

FALL    EXAMINATIONS. 

Examinations  are  held  in  the  latter  part  of  September  and  early 
in  October  for  students  of  the  college  who  have  been  prevented 
from  taking  the  spring  examinations  or  who  have  failed  to  secure 
the  required  average  in  these  examinations,  and  for  applicants  for 
advanced  standing. 

ADVANCED    STANDING. 

A  degree  in  arts  from  a  college  in  which  the  natural  sciences  are 
pursued,  or  a  Chemical-Biological  course  that  leads  to  the  A.B.  or 
the  Ph.D.  degree  in  such  a  college,  admits  to  advanced  standing  in 
the  corresponding  branches  of  the  college  curriculum  on  passing 
the  required  examinations  in  these  branches. 

In  the  departments  covered  by  the  above-named  credentials  there 
is  a  deduction  of  laboratory  fees  proportionate  to  the  amount  of 
work  accepted,  and  of  lecture  fees  of  the  first  year  in  those 
branches  in  which  the  required  examinations  are  passed  on  admis- 
sion to  the  college.  The  student  is  also  entitled  to  admission  at  the 
end  of  the  year  to  the  corresponding  final  examinations  of  the 
second  year. 

Students  from  other  properly  accredited  medical  schools  are  ad- 
mitted, on  examination,  to  any  corresponding  year  of  the  course  in 
this  college  ;  they  are,  however,  required  to  make  up  any  existing 
deficiencies  in  the  laboratory  and  other  practical  courses.  The 
examinations  cover  all  the  branches  pursued  in  this  college  during 
the  time  preceding  the  year  to  which  admission  is  desired.  In  case 
of  failure  to  pass  the  examination  in  any  department,  the  applicant 
for  advanced  standing  is  required  to  take  a  course  of  lectures  in 
that  department  before  applying  for  a  second  examination. 

Graduates  of  properly  accredited  medical  schools  in  which  the 
course  covers  three  years  are  admitted,  on  the  above  conditions, 
to  the  fourth  year. 

Graduates  of  properly  accredited  medical  schools  which  require 
a  four-years'  course  are  admitted  to  the  fourth  year  on  passing  the 
regular  examinations  of  the  third  year. 

DIVISION    OF    STUDIES. 

First  Year^  Lectures  and  recitations  on  General  and  Organic 
Chemistry,  Anatomy,  Physiology,  and  Materia  Medica;  laboratory 
work  in  Chemistry,  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Pharmacy,  and  Histol- 
ogy, and  a  course  in  Bandaging. 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  225 

Examinations  on  the  work  of  the  year. 

Second  Year.  Lectures  and  recitations  on  Toxicology,  advanced 
Anatomy,  advanced  Physiology,  General  Pathology,  Surgery,  and 
General  Symptomatology  ;  instruction  in  Physical  Diagnosis  ;  lab- 
oratory work  in  Clinical  Chemistry,  Anatomy,  Physiology,  Pathol- 
ogy, Bacteriology,  and  Embryology ;  attendance  on  the  clinics  of 
the  Woman's  Hospital. 

Examinations  in  Clinical  Chemistry  and  Toxicology,  Anatomy, 
Bacteriology,  Physiology,  Embryology,  and  Pathological  Histology. 

Students  who  have  passed  all  the  examinations  of  the  first  year 
and  at  least  four  of  those  of  the  second  year  are  admitted  to  the 
third  year.  The  regular  fee  in  those  departments  in  which  a  repeti- 
tion of  the  work  is  necessary  is  exacted  of  all  students  who  fail  of 
promotion,  an  equivalent  amount,  except  in  the  case  of  laboratory 
fees,  being  deducted  from  the  fees  of  the  fourth  year. 

Third  Year.  Lectures  on  Applied  Anatomy,  General  Pathol- 
ogy, General  Therapeutics,  Surgery,  Practice  of  Medicine,  Obstet- 
rics and  Gynaecology ;  courses  on  Medical  Jurisprudence,  Diseases 
of  the  Nervous  System,  Laryngology  and  Rhinology,  Orthopaedies 
and  Ophthalmology ;  practical  work  on  the  manikin  and  cadaver 
in  Operative  Surgery  and  Eracture-dressing,  Obstetric  Diagnosis 
and  Operative  Gynaecology ;  instruction  in  Physical  Diagnosis ;  in- 
struction in  post-mortem  technique  and  morbid  anatomy  and  clini- 
cal instruction  in  the  German  Hospital ;  attendance  on  the  clinics 
of  the  Woman's  Hospital  of  Philadelphia  and  of  the  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  and  German  Hospitals  ;  recitations  in  General  Thera- 
peutics, Surgery,  Practice  of  Medicine,  Obstetrics,  and  Gynae- 
cology. 

Examinations  in  Applied  Anatomy,  General  Pathology,  General 
Therapeutics,  Surgery,  Gynaecology,  Practice  of  Medicine,  and 
Obstetrics. 

Students  who  have  passed  all  the  examinations  of  the  second 
year  and  at  least  four  of  those  of  the  third  year  are  admitted  to  the 
fourth  year. 

Fourth  Year.  Lectures  on  the  Practice  of  Medicine  and  Obstet- 
rics ;  Operative  Obstetrics ;  courses  on  Hygiene,  Medical  Jurispru- 
dence, Paediatrics,  Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System,  Otology, 
Laryngology,  Rhinology,  Orthopaedics,  Ophthalmology,  and  Derma- 
tology ;  clinical  instruction  in  the  Dispensaries  of  the  Woman's 
Hospital  of  Philadelphia,  the  German  Hospital,  the  Alumnae  Hospi- 
tal, and  the  West  Philadelphia  Hospital  for  Women ;  instruction  in 


226  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS  GIBLS. 

the  medical  wards  of  the  Philadelphia  Hospital  and  in  the  surgical 
wards  of  the  Howard  Hospital ;  instruction  in  the  maternity  wards 
and  attendance  on  obstetrical  cases  at  the  Woman's  Hospital  and 
at  the  Woman's  Medical  College  Maternity;  attendance  at  the 
operations  of  the  Woman's  Hospital ;  visits  with  the  internes  of  the 
hospital  in  charge  of  the  out-obstetrical  practice;  attendance  on 
operations  at  the  West  Philadelphia  Hospital  for  Women  and  at 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Hospital ;  inspection  of  different  systems 
of  ventilation,  heating,  lighting,  and  drainage  of  hospitals,  school- 
houses,  and  other  public  buildings ;  recitations  on  Obstetrics, 
Hygiene,  and  the  Practice  of  Medicine. 

Examinations  in  Obstetrics,  the  Practice  of  Medicine,  Hygiene, 
Paediatrics,  and  Clinical  Surgery. 

At  the  close  of  the  fourth  year  students  who  have  fulfilled  all 
the  requirements  of  the  college,  and  have  passed  all  the  required 
examinations,  are  eligible  for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine. 

LABORATORY  AND  OTHER  PRACTICAL  COURSES. 

The  course  in  Chemistry  is  under  the  general  supervision  of  the 
Professor  of  Chemistry  ;  the  laboratory  is  in  charge  of  the  Director 
and  one  assistant.  The  laboratory  work  in  chemistry  during  the 
first  year  illustrates  and  supplements  the  lectures.  The  first  half 
of  the  term  is  devoted  to  the  study  of  the  important  elements  and 
their  common  compounds.  While  especial  attention  is  given  to 
those  substances  which  are  of  direct  medical  interest,  the  practical 
work  is  broad  enough  to  furnish  the  training  required  for  the  ex- 
ecution of  the  more  elaborate  and  careful  experiments  in  the 
advanced  courses.  The  second  half  of  the  first  term  deals  with 
Organic  Chemistry.  Each  of  the  more  important  groups  of  the 
carbon  compounds  is  illustrated  by  the  isolation  and  study  of  at 
least  one  member.  These  illustrative  compounds,  with  a  few 
exceptions,  are  obtained  by  the  students  directly  from  animal 
tissues. 

The  didactic  work  of  the  second  year  relates  to  toxicology ;  the 
laboratory  work  to  physiological  and  clinical  chemistry.  The  class 
is  divided  into  sections  for  laboratory  work  and  conferences,  thus 
facilitating  individual  instruction.  The  chemistry  of  the  normal 
tissues  and  processes  of  the  body  is  studied  first,  particular  atten- 
tion being  directed  to  digestive  proteolysis,  and  clinical  analysis  is 
grafted  upon  this  knowledge  of  the  normal  by  the  aid  of  pathologi- 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  227 

cal  samples  of  urine  and  stomach  contents  obtained  fresh  from  the 
hospitals. 

All  of  the  laboratory  work,  of  both  first  and  second  years,  is 
strictly  individual.  The  equipment  permits  of  each  student  having 
a  separate  desk  and  complete  set  of  apparatus. 

The  laboratory  of  Histology  and  Embryology  is  under  the  super- 
vision of  the  Director  and  an  assistant,  and  is  supplied  with  appa- 
ratus for  practical  work.  The  instruction  in  microscopic  technique 
comprises  methods  of  fixation  and  hardening,  imbedding  in  paraffin 
and  in  celloidin,  section-cutting,  staining  and  mounting  of  sections, 
and  the  examination  of  blood  and  fresh  tissues.*  Each  student  is 
required  to  prepare  at  least  six  specimens  for  the  class,  beginning 
with  the  fresh  tissue  and  carrying  it  through  the  series  of  processes 
by  which  it  is  made  ready  for  microscopic  examination.  In  the 
course  in  Embryology  the  preparation  of  several  embryo  chicks  for 
microscopic  study  is  assigned  to  each  student ;  opportunity  is  also 
afforded  for  the  study  of  mammalian  embryos. 

The  Physiological  Laboratory  is  in  charge  of  the  Professor  of 
Physiology  and  two  assistants.  It  is  furnished  with  the  necessary 
apparatus  for  illustrating  some  of  the  most  interesting  problems  of 
physiology  and  with  conveniences  for  practical  individual  study  of 
the  functions  of  the  most  important  tissues  and  mechanisms  of  the 
body.  Every  student  is  required  to  work  at  least  thirty  hours  in 
this  laboratory.  The  work  is  distributed  over  two  years,  being 
done  in  connection  with  the  corresponding  lectures.  The  course 
follows,  in  the  main,  the  experimental  parts  of  Foster  and  Lang- 
ley's  laboratory  handbook,  with  additional  experiments  selected 
from  Stirling's  handbook  and  other  sources.  The  work  is  intended 
to  illustrate  the  methods  used  in  experimental  physiology  and  to 
secure  a  degree  of  personal  knowledge  of  physiological  facts 
sufficient  for  the  proper  appreciation  of  the  literature  of  the 
subject. 

The  instruction  in  Hygiene  is  supplemented  by  laboratory  work 
and  by  inspection  of  buildings,  both  public  and  private,  with  refer- 
ence to  artificial  heating  and  lighting,  ventilation,  drainage,  expos- 
ure to  sunlight,  protection  from  ground-air,  etc. 

The  Pharmaceutical  Laboratory  is  in  charge  of  a  Professor  from 
the  Philadelphia  College  of  Pharmacy.  It  provides  facilities  for 
becoming  familiar  with  the  important  standard  medicinal  prepara- 
tions. 

The  Pathological  Laboratory  is  in  charge  of  a  Demonstrator  and 


228  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

two  assistants,  under  the  direction  of  the  Professor  of  Pathology. 
It  is  furnished  with  microscopes  and  all  other  apparatus  requisite 
for  efficient  study  and  original  work.  Each  student  of  the  second 
and  third  years  is  provided  with  a  microscope,  reagents  and  mate- 
rial, and  receives  individual  instruction  in  microscopic  technique, 
pathological  histology,  and  in  the  microscopy  of  urine,  blood,  and 
sputum.  About  one  hundred  mounted  sections  of  pathological 
tissue  are  acquired  by  the  student  during  the  course.  Gross 
morbid  anatomy  is  taught  by  post-mortem  examinations  made  in 
the  presence  of  the  class,  also  by  the  students  themselves  under 
direction,  and  by  demonstrations  of  fresh  and  preserved  specimens. 

The  Bacteriological  Laboratory,  recently  built  on  College 
grounds,  and  in  charge  of  the  Director  of  that  department,  is  sup- 
plied with  all  the  apparatus  required  by  the  modern  methods  of 
investigation.  There  is  a  large  collection  of  cultures  of  the  most 
important  and  interesting  pathogenic  and  non-pathogenic  micro- 
organisms. In  the  bacteriological  course  each  student  is  required 
to  prepare  culture  media  and  to  cultivate  and  study  the  various 
bacteria  and  fungi,  particularly  those  relating  to  disease.  Oppor- 
tunity is  also  offered  for  post-graduate  work  and  for  original  re- 
search. 

Bandaging,  Operative  Surgery,  and  the  Application  of  Fracture- 
dressings  are  taught  on  the  manikin  and  cadaver  by  the  Adjunct 
Professor  of  Surgery  under  the  general  supervision  of  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Surgery.  Bedside  instruction  in  surgery  is  given  to 
sections  of  the  senior  class  by  the  Clinical  Professor  of  Surgery  in 
the  wards  of  the  Howard  Hospital. 

Since  the  appointment,  by  the  Woman's  Hospital,  of  the  Pro- 
fessor of  Obstetrics  to  the  post  of  Chief  Obstetrician,  the  students 
have  had  increased  opportunities  for  practical  work  and  bedside 
instruction.  Small  sections  of  the  class  attend  the  daily  morning 
visits  of  the  Chief  or  of  the  Demonstrator  of  Obstetrics,  and, 
under  the  direct  supervision  of  the  Resident  Physician,  assist  at 
births,  deliver  multipara,  and  examine  and  treat  pregnant  and 
puerperal  women  and  the  newly  born.  Two  hundred  and  ninety- 
six  patients  were  attended  by  the  students  in  the  out-practice  of 
the  college  maternity  during  the  year  ending  April  30,  1900. 
Each  student  is  required  to  attend  eight  obstetrical  cases  and  to 
report  to  the  Demonstrator  and  Assistant  Demonstrator  the 
anamnesis  of  the  patient  and  the  daily  record  of  pulse,  tempera- 
ture, and  puerperal  changes ;   also  to  submit  to  the  Professor  her 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOB.  229 

observations  on  the  labor,  with  special  reference  to  the  modifica- 
tions by  pelvic  and  other  abnormalities.  Frequent  opportunities 
are  given  for  the  discussion  of  cases  with  the  teaching-corps,  and 
every  effort  is  made  to  enforce,  by  constant  repetition  and  appro- 
priate illustrations,  the  various  important  points  in  obstetric  prac- 
tice. 

A  course  in  Operative  Gynaecology  on  the  cadaver  and  practical 
instruction  in  Gynaecology  are  given  by  the  Professor  and  Demon- 
strator in  that  department. 

Students  are  in  turn  invited  to  be  present  at  operations  in  the 
various  departments  of  Surgery  at  the  Woman's  Hospital. 

Bedside  instruction  is  given  to  the  senior  class  in  sections  by  the 
Professor  of  the  Practice  of  Medicine  and  by  the  Clinical  Professor 
of  Medicine  in  the  wards  of  the  Philadelphia  Hospital  and  by  the 
Clinical  Professor  of  Medicine  at  the  German  Hospital. 

Drill  in  physical  diagnosis  is  given  to  sections  of  the  class  by  the 
Demonstrator  and  Clinical  Instructors  in  the  Practice  of  Medicine, 
and  the  Demonstrator  of  Physical  Diagnosis. 

The  Dissecting  Room  is  open  throughout  the  entire  course.  It  is 
under  the  general  supervision  of  the  Professor  of  Anatomy  and  in 
the  immediate  charge  of  the  Adjunct  Professor  of  Anatomy  and 
several  Demonstrators.  It  is  well  lighted  and  ventilated.  The 
material  for  dissection  is  ample. 

Recitations  on  the  subjects  presented  in  the  lectures  of  the  vari- 
ous Professors  are  conducted  by  the  Demonstrator  or  Instructor 
in  each  department  except  Physiology,  in  which  the  recitations  are 
held  by  the  Professor  of  Physiology.  Attendance  on  these  recita- 
tions or  the  presentation  of  a  certificate  showing  an  equivalent 
amount  of  work  with  a  private  teacher  is  required. 

NEW   LABORATORY    BUILDING. 

A  new  laboratory  building  was  opened  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Session  in  October,  1899. 

The  entire  first  floor  will  eventually  be  used  for  the  training  of 
students  in  methods  of  muscular  exercise  both  for  the  prevention 
and  the  treatment  of  deformities  and  of  nervous  and  other  diseases, 
the  basement  affording  space  for  the  necessary  rooms  accessory  to 
such  a  department. 

The  second  floor  provides  an  improved  laboratory  of  physiology 
and  a  new  lecture-hall. 


230  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

The  third  floor,  lighted  from  the  roof  as  well  as  the  sides,  is  de- 
voted to  the  laboratories  of  histology,  embryology,  and  pathology. 

The  removal  of  these  laboratories  from  the  main  college  build- 
ing makes  room  there  for  a  laboratory  and  museum  of  hygiene 
which  it  is  hoped  will  be  equipped  for  use  in  the  near  future,  and 
provide  additional  space  in  connection  with  the  study-rooms, 
lunch-rooms,  etc. 

CLINICAL   ADVANTAGES. 

The  Woman's  Hospital,  in  which  over  seven  thousand  patients 
are  treated  annually,  adjoins  the  college  ;  the  amphitheatre  of  Clinic 
Hall  has  a  seating  capacity  of  about  three  hundred.  The  building 
also  includes  a  number  of  smaller  rooms,  thus  admitting  of  a  sys- 
tematic classification  of  patients  in  attendance  upon  the  daily  dis- 
pensary service  and  their  treatment  by  the  various  attendants  in 
the  different  departments  of  medicine  and  surgery  at  the  same 
hours.  Clinics  in  the  departments  of  Medicine,  Surgery,  Obstet- 
rics, and  Gynaecology  are  held  by  the  clinical  lecturers. 

Clinical  lectures  are  also  given  by  the  specialists  in  Diseases  of 
the  Skin,  the  Nervous  System,  the  Eye,  the  Ear,  the  Throat,  and 
Nose,  and  in  Orthopaedic  Surgery. 

Clinical  instruction  in  the  Practice  of  Medicine,  Surgery,  Gynae- 
cology, Nervous  Diseases  and  Orthopaedics,  Ophthalmology,  Laryn- 
gology, and  Rhinology  is  given  to  students  of  the  fourth  year,  in  sec- 
tions, by  the  Clinical  Instructors  of  the  Woman's  Hospital  under 
the  general  supervision  of  the  Chief  Resident  Physician. 

Clinics  representing  all  departments  of  medicine  are  held  daily 
from  9  A.M.  to  5  P.M.  at  the  Hospital  and  Dispensary  of  the 
Alumnae  of  the  College,  1207  South  Third  Street.  This  dispensary 
also  provides  many  interesting  cases  for  the  clinical  lectures  given 
in  the  college  course. 

Students  of  the  fourth  year  are  admitted  to  the  operations  of  the 
West  Philadelphia  Hospital  for  Women,  and,  by  the  courtesy  of 
the  Surgeon-in-Chief,  to  those  of  the  Kensington  Hospital  for 
Women. 

Students  of  this  college  are  admitted  to  clinical  lectures  at  the 
Pennsylvania,  the  German,  the  Children's,  and  the  Philadelphia 
(Blockley)  Hospitals ;  and,  by  private  arrangement,  classes  inay 
obtain  instruction  in  the  wards  of  the  last-named  hospital,  which 
offers  rare  opportunities  for  clinical  study.  The  daily  clinics  at 
Wills  Hospital  for  Diseases  of  the  Eye  and  at  the  Eye  and  Ear 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  231 

Department  of  the  Philadelphia  Dispensary  are  also  accessible. 
The  Philadelphia  Lying-in  Charity  affords  advantages  to  students  of 
this  college. 

READING-ROOM. 

The  reading-room,  supplied  with  important  books  of  reference 
and  with  medical  and  other  journals,  is  open  to  students  during 
college  hours.  Every  student,  on  registering,  is  required  to  pay  a 
fee  of  fifty  cents  towards  providing  this  room  with  current  medi- 
cal literature. 

LIBRARIES. 

The  Libraries  of  the  College  and  the  Alumnae  Association  have 
received  important  additions  during  the  last  year.  They  are 
mostly  made  up  of  standard  works  valuable  for  reference.  The 
Library  of  the  Pennsylvania  Hospital  becomes  available  to  all 
students  registered  as  clinical  attendants  in  that  institution  on 
a  temporary  deposit  of  ten  dollars  with  the  librarian  and  the  annual 
payment  of  three  dollars.  The  Library  of  the  College  of  Physi- 
cians (the  largest  medical  library  in  the  country,  except  that  of  the 
Surgeon-General's  office  of  the  U.S.  Army)  is  by  courtesy  open 
to  students  on  introduction  by  any  fellow  of  the  college.  There 
is  also  a  medical  department  in  the  Mercantile  Library. 

MUSEUMS. 

The  college  possesses  an  excellent  museum  of  anatomical  and 
pathological  specimens,  microscopical  preparations,  models,  draw- 
ings, etc.  It  is  exceedingly  desirable  that  it  be  steadily  increased, 
and  the  alumnae  are  specially  requested  to  send  to  it  any  specimens 
which  they  may  be  able  to  procure.  The  curator  of  the  museum 
leaves  in  charge  of  the  janitor  receptacles  in  which  specimens 
sent  to  the  college  are  properly  preserved  until  examined  and 
mounted  for  the  museum. 

There  is  also  a  fine  cabinet  of  materia  medica. , 

ALUMNA    ASSOCIATION. 

An  Association  of  the  Alumnae  of  the  college  was  organized  in 
1875.  One  of  the  expressed  objects  of  this  association  is  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  of  the  college.  No  higher  encouragement  could 
be  afforded  the  Corporators  and  Faculty  than  this  expression  of 
continued  interest  on  the  part  of  the  graduates,  and  it  is  hoped  that 


232  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

the  organization  may  prove  an  advantage  to  the  alumnae  as  well  as 
to  the  college  by  aiding  them  in  their  efforts  to  maintain  a  high 
standard  of  attainments  and  professional  character.  At  the  third 
annual  meeting  of  this  association  it  was  determined  to  apply  yearly 
one-half  of  the  surplus  funds  to  the  founding  of  a  medical  and 
scientific  library  for  the  use  of  the  students  and  alumna?  of  the 
college ;  the  other  half  to  the  establishment  of  an  educational  fund 
to  be  used  in  the  interests  of  students  as  the  association  may  at 
any  time  direct. 

At  the  annual  meeting  of  the  association  in  March,  1887,  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  devise  a  plan  for  raising  a  sum  of 
money  sufficient  for  the  endowment  of  a  Chair  of  Preventive 
Medicine  in  the  college  and  for  the  building  of  a  gymnasium  for 
the  physical  training  of  students  and  for  the  demonstration  of  the 
therapeutic  applications  of  muscular  exercise  in  the  treatment  of 
deformities  and  nervous  and  other  diseases ;  also  for  the  furnish- 
ing of  a  laboratory  and  museum  for  the  practical  study  of  methods 
of  prevention  of  disease  and  for  illustrating  the  principles  of  home 
and  public  sanitation,  etc.  The  Corporators,  Faculty,  and  Alumna? 
unite  in  regarding  a  Chair  of  Preventive  Medicine  as  an  important 
part  of  the  educational  equipment  of  a  medical  school,  and  a 
gymnasium,  laboratory,  and  museum  as  indispensable  adjuncts  of 
such  a  chair.  Since  this  time  a  department  of  Bacteriology  has 
been  established,  and  the  other  required  rooms  have  been  provided 
by  the  corporators,  thus  materially  reducing  the  amount  necessary 
for  the  full  equipment  of  such  a  chair. 

HOSPITAL    BED. 

During  the  session  of  1890  and  1891  the  Students' Association 
appointed  a  committee  of  their  number  to  undertake  the  raising  of 
a  sum  of  money  sufficient  to  endow  a  bed  in  one  of  the  hospitals 
of  Philadelphia,  for  the  benefit  of  sick  students. 

The  matter  was  brought  before  the  Alumna?  Association  and'a  com- 
mittee was  appointed  to  cooperate  with  the  committee  of  students 
in  securing  this  object,  the  Alumnae  Association  at  the  same  time 
making  a  contribution  of  fifty  dollars  towards  the  fund.  A  con- 
siderable sum  of  money  was  also  contributed  by  individual  students 
and  others  and  an  encouraging  beginning  was  made. 

By  the  efforts  of  the  committees  of  successive  years  the  sum  of 
one  thousand  dollars  has  been  raised,  and  through  the  liberality  of 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  233 

the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Woman's  Hospital,  who  offered  a 
bed  to  the  students  of  the  college  on  very  generous  terms,  this  sum 
has  become  immediately  available  in  securing  a  bed  in  the 
Woman's  Hospital  during  three  months  of  the  year ;  additional 
privileges  will  be  allowed  in  the  same  proportion  on  the  payment 
of  a  second  thousand  dollars ;  over  six  hundred  dollars  have  been 
raised  towards  the  second  payment,  and  the  payment  of  a  third 
thousand  dollars  will  complete  the  endowment  of  a  bed  in  per- 
petuity for  the  entire  year.  This  bed  is  intended  for  the  benefit 
of  any  student  suffering  from  a  non-contagious  disease  who  desires 
to  avail  herself  of  its  use ;  it  becomes  available  by  application  to 
the  physician  in  charge  of  the  hospital. 

The  executors  of  the  estate  of  the  late  Mary  Jeanes  have  also 
given  to  the  college  a  sum  of  money  to  be  known  as  the  Mary 
Jeanes  Fund,  the  income  accruing  from  which  may  be  applied, 
under  the  direction  of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  college,  for 
the  relief  of  necessitous  students  in  time  of  illness. 

BRINTON   HALL. 

The  Young  Women's  Christian  Association  established  by  stu- 
dents of  the  college,  indebted  during  eight  years  to  the  liberality 
of  Miss  Susanna  Brinton  for  the  use  of  Brinton  Hall,  has  acquired 
title  to  the  property  and,  though  not  unincumbered,  it  now  belongs 
to  the  association. 

Brinton  Hall  is  in  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  college  and 
not  only  serves  as  the  home  of  the  association,  but  affords  many 
conveniences  to  all  students  of  the  college. 

The  association  publishes  a  yearly  handbook  of  information  of 
great  convenience  to  any  student  coming  as  a  stranger  to  Phila- 
delphia, a  copy  of  which  may  be  obtained  by  application  to  the 
President  of  the  association,  addressed  to  Brinton  Hall,  corner  of 
North  College  Avenue  and  Twenty-second  Street. 

PECUNIARY    AID. 

The  income  from  funds  left  for  the  purpose  by  Ann  Preston, 
M.D.,  Kobert  J.  Dodd,  M.D.,  Hannah  W.  Richardson,  and  Isaiah 
V.  Williamson  enables  the  college  to  assist  annually  a  limited 
number  of  women  of  good  character  and  thorough  preparatory 
education  who  are  adapted  to  the  profession  of  medicine,  but  are 
unable  to   secure   a  medical   education  without  such  aid.     The 


234  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

amount  of  assistance  afforded  will  be  determined  by  the  circum- 
stances of  each  case. 

Four  students  may  also  be  admitted  annually  at  a  reduction  of 
thirty-five  dollars  each  year  from  the  regular  fees  upon  presenta- 
tion of  a  certificate  from  a  recognized  missionary  society  stating 
definitely  the  intention  of  the  applicant  to  prosecute  medical  work 
abroad  under  the  direction  of  the  society  issuing  the  certificate ; 
also  that  she  will  receive  from  the  society  pecuniary  assistance  in 
obtaining  a  medical  education.  Should  any  student,  accepting  such 
assistance,  decide  after  graduation  not  to  enter  the  missionary  field, 
she  will  be  expected  to  pay  to  the  college  a  sum  of  money  equal  to 
the  amount  deducted  from  the  regular  fees. 

All  the  foregoing  benefits  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  college. 

The  college  reserves  the  right  to  withdraw  a  benefit  at  any  time, 
should  the  conduct  of  the  student  or  the  results  of  her  examina- 
tions convince  the  committee  that  it  has  been  unwisely  awarded. 

Applicants  must  be  between  twenty  and  thirty  years  of  age. 
Application  in  the  handwriting  of  the  applicant,  accompanied  by 
satisfactory  certificates  as  to  age,  health,  character,  education,  and 
want  of  means,  should  be  sent  to  Alfred  Jones,  Secretary  of  the 
Committee,  at  the  college  before  June  20. 

HOSPITAL    APPOINTMENTS. 

The  resident  physician  of  the  Maternity  Hospital  of  the  Woman's 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  is  appointed  annually  from  the 
graduating  class. 

Six  recent  graduates  are  appointed  annually  to  serve  as  internes  in 
the  Woman's  Hospital  of  Philadelphia.  The  large  out-practice 
connected  with  this  institution  is  mainly  entrusted  to  these  assist- 
ants. 

The  Hospital  and  Dispensary  of  the  Alumnae  of  the  Woman's 
Medical  College  of  Pennsylvania  appoints  each  year  a  graduate  of 
the  college  as  resident  physician. 

The  West  Philadelphia  Hospital  for  Women  appoints  three 
internes  yearly,  preference  being  given  to  graduates  of  this  school. 
The  large  out-practice  of  the  hospital  gives  a  varied  experience  in 
general  medicine  and  diseases  of  children.  The  maternity-work 
includes  both  house  and  out  practice. 

The  Maternity  Hospital  of  Philadelphia,  the  Philadelphia  Lying- 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  235 

in  Charity,  and  the  Sheltering  Arms,  each  makes  one  appointment 
annually  to  the  position  of  resident  physician.  The  present  resi- 
dents in  the  Women's  Department  of  the  Philadelphia  County 
Prison,  in  the  Insane  Department  for  Women  of  the  Philadelphia 
Hospital,  of  the  Home  for  the  Care  and  Treatment  of  Consump- 
tives, and  of  the  Hospital  for  Incurables,  are  graduates  of  this 
school. 

The  competitive  examinations  for  the  position  of  resident  physi- 
cian in  the  Philadelphia  (Blockley),  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Hos- 
pitals of  Philadelphia,  and  in  the  Charity  Hospital  of  Norristown, 
Pa.,  the  New  York  Infant  Asylum,  and  the  Manhattan  State  Hos- 
pital for  the  Insane,  are  open  to  women. 

The  New  England  Hospital  for  Women  and  Children,  in  Boston, 
Mass.,  makes  eight,  the  Nursery  and  Child's  Hospital  of  Staten 
Island,  N.Y.,  two,  the  Maternity  Hospital  in  Detroit,  Mich.,  two, 
the  Northwestern  Hospital  for  Women  and  Children,  Minneapolis, 
Minn.,  one,  and  the  Memorial  Hospital  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  two 
annual  appointments  of  internes  from  among  the  graduates  of  the 
various  medical  schools  for  women. 

Annual  appointments  are  also  made  by  the  Hospital  for  the  Insane 
at  Middletown,  Conn.,  and  the  Western  Lunatic  Asylum  at  Staun- 
ton, Va. 


The  managers  of  the  Woman's  Hospital  have  in  charge  the  sum 
of  one  thousand  dollars,  presented  to  the  institution  by  a  late  mem- 
ber of  their  board,  the  interest  of  which  is  offered  in  small  sums  as 
premiums  to  the  graduates  and  students  of  this  college  for  inven- 
tions or  for  improvements  of  surgical  instruments  or  medical  ap- 
pliances. 

Any  candidate  for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  may  offer 
a  thesis  which,  if  of  sufficient  merit,  will  receive  honorable  men- 
tion at  the  next  annual  commencement.  Such  theses  must  be  pre- 
sented to  the  Dean  at  least  one  month  before  the  commencement, 
and  will  become  the  property  of  the  college. 

SPECIAL    COURSES    OF    STUDY. 

At  the  discretion  of  the  Faculty,  graduates  of  medicine,  and 
others  desiring  to  pursue  special  courses  of  s^udy,  may  matriculate 
and  select  such  courses  without  reference  to  the  regular  curriculum. 


236  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 


REQUIREMENTS    FOR    GRADUATION. 

Candidates  for  the  Degree  of  Doctor  of  Medicine  in  this  college 
must  have  reached  the  age  of  twenty-one  years.  They  must  have 
attended  four  full  courses  of  instruction  in  four  separate  years, 
the  last  of  which  must  have  been  in  this  college. 

In  addition  to  attendance  on  the  lectures  as  provided  for  each 
year,  the  candidate  must  have  taken  two  courses  in  Practical 
Anatomy,  having  made  at  least  one  creditable  dissection  of  each  of 
the  usual  divisions  of  the  cadaver ;  must  have  done  the  required 
laboratory  work  in  the  departments  of  Chemistry,  Pharmacy,  His- 
tology and  Embryology,  Physiology,  Pathology,  Hygiene,  and  Bac- 
teriology ;  must  have  taken  the  required  practical  courses  in  Physi- 
cal Diagnosis,  Surgery,  Obstetrics,  and  Gynaecology;  must  furnish 
evidence  of  having  done  all  the  clinical  class-work;  of  having  at- 
tended at  least  two  courses  of  clinical  lectures  in  the  departments 
of  General  Medicine,  Surgery,  Obstetrics,  and  Gynaecology  ;  of  at- 
tendance on  the  recitations  as  laid  down  in  the  schedule  for  each 
year,  or  of  an  equivalent  amount  of  work  with  a  private  instructor ; 
of  having  reported  a  post-mortem  examination,  and  of  having  ex- 
amined and  reported  two  clinical  cases  in  medicine,  and  of  having 
taken  charge  of  and  reported  eight  cases  of  obstetrics. 

The  application  for  the  degree  must  be  made  six  weeks  before 
the  close  of  the  session.  The  candidate,  at  the  time  of  application, 
must  exhibit  to  the  Dean  evidence  of  having  complied  with  the 
above  requirements. 

The  corporators,  on  recommendation  of  the  Faculty,  reserve  the 
right  to  withhold  the  degree  from  any  applicant  on  the  ground  of 
mental  or  moral  unfitness  for  the  profession. 


TEXT-BOOKS. 

The  following  are  recommended  by  the  Faculty  as  text-books 
and  works  of  reference. 


TEXT-BOOKS.  COLLATERAL  READING. 

Chemistry:  Bartley's  Medical  Reese's  Manual  of  Medical  Juris- 
Chernistry;  Smith  and  Keller's  prudence  and  Toxicology,  re- 
Experiments  for  Students  in  Gen-  vised  by  Leffmann;  Hammcr- 
eral  Chemistry  ;  Tyson's  Practical  sten,  Text-book  of  Physiological 
Examination  of  Urine.  Chemistry,  translated  by  Mandel. 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR. 


237 


Anatomy :  Gray's  Anatomy,  De- 
scriptive and  Surgical;  Treves's 
Applied  Anatomy. 

Histology :  Stohr's  Text-book  of 
Normal  Histology  ;  Piersol's  Nor- 
mal Histology;  Text-book  of 
Human  Histology,  by  Bolton  and 
Davidoff,  translated  by  Artbur  H. 
Cusbing,  M.D. 

Embryology  :  Foster  and  Balfour's 
Elements  of  Embryology. 


Bacteriology  :    Abbott's  Principles 
of  Bacteriology. 


Physiology  :  Foster's  Text-book  of 
Physiology ;  Stewart's  Manual  of 
Physiology;  Foster  and  Lang- 
ley's  Handbook  for  the  Physio- 
logical Laboratory. 


Hygiene :  Text-book  of  Hygiene, 
Rohe;  Stevenson  and  Murphy's 
Treatise  on  Hygiene ;  Parkes's 
Hygiene  and  Public  Health. 


Materia  Medica  and  Therapeutics  : 
Wood's  Therapeutics,  Materia 
Medica  and  Toxicology. 


Quain's  Anatomy ;  Henry  Morris's 
Human  Anatomy. 


Banvier's  Traite  Technique  d'His- 
tologie ;  Edinger's  Vbrlesungen 
iiberden  Bau  der  nervosen  Cen- 
tralorgane ;  Zimmermann's  Das 
Mikroskop ;  Clarkson's  Text- 
book of  Histology. 

Hertwig's  Embryology  of  Man  and 
Mammals ;  Minot's  Human  Em- 
bryology. 

Giinther  (Carl),  Einfuhrung  in  das 
Studium  der  Bacteriologie ; 
Woodhead's  Bacteria  and  their 
Products. 

Landois  and  Sterling's  Text-book 
of  Physiology ;  American  Text- 
book of  Physiology ;  Handbuch 
der  Physiologie,  Dr.  L.  Her- 
mann; Halliburton's  Chemical 
Physiology  and  Pathology  ;  Func- 
tions of  the  Brain,  David  Ferrier, 
M.D.,  F.R.S. ;  Meynert's  Psychi- 
atry, Vol.  I.,  Anatomy,  Physiol- 
ogy, and  Nutrition  of  the  Brain ; 
Comparative  Anatomy  and  Phys- 
iology, F.  Jeffrey  Bell,  M.A.; 
Elementary  Biology,  T.  Jeffrey 
Parker. 

Air  and  Ventilation,  Billings ;  Med- 
ical Climatology,  Solly;  House- 
drainage  and  Sanitary  Plumbing, 
Gerhard;  The  Chemistry  of 
Dairying,  Snyder;  Foods,  their 
Composition  and  Analysis,  A. 
Winter  Blythe ;  Water-supply, 
Chemical  and  Sanitaiy,  Mason. 

Ringer's  Therapeutics ;  Hare's 
Text-book  of  Practical  Thera- 
peutics. 


238 


HELPS   FOE  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


Pathology  and  Morbid  Anatomy  : 
Stengel's  Manual  of  Pathology; 
Zeigler's  Manual  of  General  and 
Special  Pathological  Anatomy. 

Practice  of  Medicine  :  Flint,  revised 
by  Henry ;  Osier. 


Mallory  and  Wright's  Pathological 
Technique. 


Strumpell ;  Tyson ;  Musser's  Medi- 
cal Diagnosis. 


Surgery :    Roberts's    Modern  Sur- 
gery. 


Park's  Surgery;  Tillmanns's  Sur- 
gery; Bryant's  Operative  Sur- 
gery. 


Obstetrics :  A  Text-book  of  Obstet- 
rics, Hirst. 


The    Practice    of    Obstetrics     by 
American  Authors,  Jewett. 


Gynecology :  An  American  Text- 
book of  Gynaecology,  Medical  and 
Surgical;  Treatise  on  Gynaecol- 
ogy, Medical  and  Surgical,  S. 
Pozzi,  M.D. 

Diseases  of  Children :  J.  Lewis 
Smith's  Diseases  of  Infancy  and 
Childhood. 


Surgical  Diseases  of  the  Ovaries 
and  Fallopian  Tubes,  J.  Bland 
Sutton,  F.R.C.S. ;  Pathology  and 
Surgical  Treatment  of  Tumors, 
N.  Senn,  M.D. ;  Operative  Gyn- 
aecology, Howard  A.  Kelly. 


Diseases  of  the  Nervous  System  : 
The  Nervous  System  and  its  Dis- 
eases by  Dr.  C.  K.  Mills ;  Dana, 
Gowers,  Dercum. 


Amidon's      Students'    Manual    of 
Electro-Therapeutics. 


Diseases  of  the  Skin  :  Stelwagon's 
Essentials. 


Van  Harlingen,  Hyde. 


Diseases  of  the  Ear :  Burnett's  Sys- 
tem of  Diseases  of  the  Ear,  Nose, 
and  Throat. 


Diseases  of  the  Eye ;  Walker's 
Students'  Aid  in  Ophthalmology; 
De  Schweiuitz's  Diseases  of  the 
Eye. 

Diseases  of  the  Throat  and  Nose  : 
Bosworth,  Browne,  Mackenzie. 


Orthopaedic       Surgery 
Orthopaedic  Surgery. 


Norris  and  Oliver's  American  Sys- 
tem of  Ophthalmology;  Fuch's 
Text-book  of  Ophthalmology ; 
Gower's  Medical  Ophthalmology. 


Young's       Bradford  and  Lovett,  Reeves. 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  239 


Books  of  Reference. 

United  States  Dispensatory.  Keating's  Cyclopaedia  of  the  Dis- 
united States  Pharmacopoeia.  eases  of  Children. 
Gould's  Medical  Dictionary.  Treves's  Manual  of  Operative  Sur- 
Ziemssen's  Cyclopaedia  of  Medicine.  gery. 

Pepper's  System  of  Medicine.  J.  Collins  Warren's   Surgical  Pa- 

Duhring's  Atlas  of  Skin  Diseases.  thology. 

Mann's  System  of  Gynaecology.  Stimson  on  Fractures  and  Disloca- 
tions. 


EXPENSES. 

First  Year : 

Matriculation  ticket $5  00 

General  ticket  admitting  to  all  the  lectures  and  labora- 
tory courses  belonging  to  the  year        .         .         .  130  00 

Dissecting  material 6  00 

Reading-room  fee 50 

Second  Year  : 

General  ticket  admitting  to  all  the  lectures  and  labora- 
tory courses  belonging  to  the  year        .         .         .     135  00 
Dissecting  material     .......         3  00 

Reading-room  fee 50 

Third  Year: 

General  ticket  admitting  to  all  the  lectures  and  practi- 
cal courses  belonging  to  the  year          .         .         .     135  00 
Reading-room  fee        . 50 

Fourth  Year : 

General  ticket  admitting  to  all  the  lectures  and  practi- 
cal courses  belonging  to  the  year          .         .         .     100  00 
Reading-room  fee 50 

Expenses  of  Special  Students  : 

Matriculation  fee         .......  5  00 

Reading-room  fee        .......  50 

Professors'  tickets,  each 20  00 

Chemical,  Histological,  and  Pathological  laboratories, 

each 10  00 


240  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

Physiological,    Pharmaceutical     and     Embryological 

laboratories,  each         .         .         .         .         .  $5  00 

Bacteriological  laboratory 25  00 

Operative  Surgery,  Operative  Obstetrics,  and  Opera- 
tive Gynaecology,  each 5  00 

Practical  Obstetrics 5  00 

Bandaging 5  00 

Dissection 10  00 

Dissecting  material,  each  part     .         .         .         .         .         2  00 
All  laboratory  students  are  expected  to  pay  for  breakage. 
A  deposit  of  $10.00  is  required  for  material  in  the  bacteriologi- 
cal laboratory. 

A  deposit  of  $5.00  is  required  for  the  use  of  bones  for  the  study 
of  osteology.  Eighty  per  cent,  of  this  sum  will  be  refunded  on  the 
return  of  the  bones. 

A  deposit  of  $5.00  is  required  for  material  and  breakage  in  the 
chemical  laboratory. 

All  fees  are  due  at  the  opening  of  the  session. 
No  portion  of  the  fees  of  any  year  can  be  returned  on  account  of 
absence  or  for  any  other  cause. 

Matriculation  and  reading-room  fees  are  payable  on  registering. 
Board  can  be  obtained  conveniently  near  the  college  at  prices 
varying  from  $4.50  to  $7.50  per  week.     The  janitor  of  the  college 
has  a  list  of  boarding-houses  in  the  vicinity. 

For  further  information,  address  Clara  Marshall,  M.D.,  Dean, 
at  the  College,  North  College  avenue  and  Twenty-first  street, 
Philadelphia,  Pa. 

This  course  of  study  is  so  much  like  the  courses  in 
men's  medical  schools  that  it  would  be  difficult  for  a  lay- 
man to  detect  any  difference ;  and  it  so  thoroughly  ex- 
plains the  system  of  training  for  women  doctors  that  it 
is  unnecessary  to  go  over  the  same  ground  by  giving  the 
study  courses  of  any  of  the  other  schools,  some  of  which 
rank  equally  high.  And  I  have  waited  till  the  very  end 
of  the  chapter  came  before  answering  your  inevitable  ques- 
tion, "  How  much  can  a  woman  doctor  make  ?  "  The 
answer  is  plain  and  brief.     She  can  make  almost,  but 


THE   WOMAN  DOCTOR.  241 

not  yet  quite,  as  much  as  a  man  doctor  in  the  same  situa- 
tion ;  that  is,  anywhere  between  nothing  and  $20,000  a 
year,  or  even  more,  in  very  exceptional  cases.  Her  fees 
are  no  smaller  than  a  man's  fees,  but  in  the  year  of  your 
graduation  the  average  woman  doctor  will  not  yet  be 
able  to  gather  quite  as  many  patients  as  the  average 
man  doctor.  That  is  because  the  old  prejudice  has  not 
yet  entirely  worn  off. 

Because  it  is  customary  for  a  young  man  to  enter  the  medical 
school  immediately  after  being  graduated  from  his  university  or 
high  school,  the  idea  should  not  prevail  that  the  same  rule  applies 
to  women.  In  fact,  it  is  in  most  instances  better  for  a  woman  not 
to  enter  so  grave  a  profession  while  still  a  girl.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 


242  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   G1BLS. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

THE    HEALER'S    MISSION. 

In  sickness  let  me  not  so  much  say,  am  I  getting 
better  of  my  pain,  as  am  I  getting  better  for  it  ?  — 
Shakespeare. 

Of  all  the  know-nothing  persons  in  this  world  com- 
mend us  to  the  man  who  has  "  never  known  a  day's 
illness."  He  is  a  moral  dunce,  one  who  has  lost  the 
greatest  lesson  in  life;  who  has  skipped  the  finest 
lecture  in  that  great  school  of  humanity,  the  sick-chamber. 
—  Hood. 

It  is  in  sickness  that  we  most  feel  the  need  of  that 
sympathy  which  shows  how  much  we  are  dependent  upon 
one  another  for  our  comfort,  and  even  necessities.  Thus 
disease  opening  our  eyes  to  the  realities  of  life  is  an 
indirect  blessing.  —  Ballou. 

It  was  a  remark  of  Burke  that  every  truth  branches  out 
into  infinity.  The  student  of  medicine  must  be  impressed 
by  the  force  of  this  suggestion  as  he  contemplates  the 
ever-widening  field  of  medical  science,  a  science  which  is 
not  alone  confined  to  the  structure  of  the  body,  the  dis- 
eases to  which  it  is  liable,  and  the  remedy  for  those 
diseases ;  but  which  embraces  all  truths  connected  with 
the  sanitary  condition  of  the  human  body  and  mind,  and 
of  consequence  with  the  sanitary  condition  of  communi- 
ties. —  Dr.  Wm.  H.  Bailey. 


THE  HE  ALE IV  S   MlbSION.  243 

While  I  do  not  insist  that  every  student  of  medicine 
must  be  a  college  graduate,  —  because  such  education  is 
not  always  an  assurance  of  mental  training  and  capacity, — 
I  do  claim  that  as  a  natural  result  of  study  and  cultiva- 
tion the  medical  student  ought  to  acquire  a  condition  of 
mind  specially  trained  for  the  intelligent,  humane,  and 
successful  practice  of  his  profession.  —  Dr.  Bailey. 

There  is  no  other  profession  in  which  the  practitioner 
is  so  dependent  upon  his  own  mental  resources.  The 
attorney  has  the  statutes  and  adjudged  cases  as  his  guide, 
the  divine  has  the  infallible  and  unchangeable  law  and 
testimony  to  which  he  can  appeal.  And  we,  as  physi- 
cians, have  our  books,  it  is  true,  recording  the  experiences 
and  opinions  of  others.  Yet  diseases  are  ever  assuming 
new  modifications,  according  to  the  idiosyncrasies  and 
accidental  surroundings  of  individuals.  The  physician 
therefore  must  be  quick  to  perceive  these  conditions  and 
be  prompt  to  adapt  his  treatment  to  the  requirements 
and  possible  emergencies  of  the  case.  —  Dr.  Bailey. 

Who  does  not  realize  how  aimless  and  unprofitable  to 
the  student,  as  a  rule,  is  most  of  the  time  passed  in  the 
office  of  the  preceptor  ?  The  community  is  burdened 
and  afflicted  with  physicians  having  but  a  superficial 
foundation  for  the  doubtful  superstructure  with  which 
they  are  permitted  to  engage  in  practice.  —  Dr.  Bailey. 

All  men  require  the  intellectual  and  moral  stimuli, 
which  are  in  no  other  way  so  effectively  received  as  in 
friendly  meetings  with  those  engaged  in  kindred  work. 
—  Dr.  Bailey. 

I  consider  it  very  dangerous  to  lay  down  first  princi- 
ples in  any  art,  without  a  nice  regard  to  the  limitations 


244  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

of  those  principles,  when  applied  to  the  art  concerned. 
—  Dr.  James  Jackson, 

If  the  question  were  as  to  the  soundness  of  any  system 
of  medicine,  old  or  new,  I  should  always  take  my  place 
among  the  sceptics.  It  is  quite  certain  that  more  is 
required  to  make  a  system  of  medicine  satisfactory  than 
can  be  furnished  from  our  present  stock  of  knowledge ; 
although  it  is  certainly  true  that  we  are  better  prepared 
than  any  of  our  predecessors.  Before  we  can  make  a 
system  of  rational  medicine,  our  stock  of  knowledge 
must  be  increased  in  all  and  each  of  the  various  depart- 
ments of  our  science.  —  Dr.  Jackson. 

Many  men,  in  and  out  of  our  profession,  believe,  or 
seem  to  believe,  that  disease  must  always  be  removed 
by  medicines,  ignoring  in  a  good  measure  the  spontane- 
ous efforts  by  which  disease  is  brought  to  a  happy  termi- 
nation in  a  large  proportion  of  cases.  —  Dr.  Jackson. 

There  is  a  charming  life  by  Henry  Morley,  of  Cardan, 
the  great  Italian  physician  and  algebraist,  which  gives 
us  in  accurate  detail  the  daily  routine  of  a  doctor's  days 
in  the  sixteenth  century.  Nothing  on  the  whole  could 
be  better  than  the  advice  Cardan  gave.  —  Dr.  S.  Weir 
Mitchell. 

The  active  physician  has  usually  little  time  nowadays 
to  give  to  the  older  books,  but  it  is  still  a  valuable  lesson 
in  common  sense  to  read,  not  so  much  the  generaliza- 
tions, as  the  cases  of  Whytt,  Willis,  Sydenham,  and 
others.  Nearer  our  own  day,  Sir  John  Forbes,  Bigelow, 
and  Flint  taught  us  the  great  lesson  that  many  diseases 
are  self-limited,  and  need  only  the  great  physician 
Time,  and  reasonable  dietetic  care,  to  get  well  without 
other  aid.  —  Dr.   Mitchell. 


THE  HEALER'S  MISSION.  245 

Medicine  has  been  defined  to  be  the  art  or  science  of 
amusing  a  sick  man  with  frivolous  speculations  about 
his  disorder,  and  of  tampering  ingeniously,  till  nature 
either  kills  or  cures  him.  —  Jeffrey. 

Doctor,  no  medicine.  We  are  machines  made  to  live, 
organized  expressly  for  that  purpose.  Such  is  our 
nature.  Do  not  counteract  the  living  principle.  Leave 
it  at  liberty  to  defend  itself,  and  it  will  do  better  than 
your  drugs.  —  Napoleon. 

There  are  those  of  my  profession  who  have  a  credulity 
about  the  action  of  drugs,  a  belief  in  their  supreme  con- 
trol and  exactness  of  effect,  which  amounts  to  supersti- 
tion, and  fills  many  of  us  with  amazement.  This  form 
of  idolatry  is  at  times  the  dull-witted  child  of  lazi- 
ness, or  it  is  a  queer  form  of  self-esteem,  which  sets 
the  idol  of  self-made  opinion  on  too  firm  a  base  to  be 
easily  shaken  by  the  rudeness  of  facts.  But  if  you 
watched  these  men  you  would  find  them  changing  their 
idols.  Such  too  profound  belief  in  mere  drugs  is  apt, 
especially  in  the  lazy  thinker,  to  give  rise  to  neglect  of 
more  natural  aids,  and  these  tendencies  are  strengthened 
and  helped  by  the  dislike  of  most  patients  to  follow  a 
schedule  of  life,  and  by  the  comfort  they  seem  to  find 
in  substituting  three  pills  a  day  for  a  troublesome  obedi- 
ence to  strict  rules  of  diet,  of  exercise,  and  of  work.  — 
Dr.  Mitchell. 

The  doctor  who  gives  much  medicine  and  many  medi- 
cines, who  is  continually  changing  them,  and  who  does 
not  insist  with  care  on  knowing  all  about  your  habits  as 
to  diet,  meal-times,  sleep,  modes  of  work,  and  hours  of 
recreation,  is,  on  the  whole,  one  to  avoid.  The  family 
doctor  is  most  of  all  apt  to  fail  as  to  these  details,  espe- 


246  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

cially  if  he  be  an  overworked  victim  of  routine,  and  have 
not  that  habitual  vigilance  of  duty  which  should  be  an 
essential  part  of  his  value.  —  Dr.  Mitchell. 

If  there  be  a  regal  solitude  it  is  a  sick-bed.  How  the 
patient  lords  it  there  !  What  caprices  he  acts  without 
control !  How  king-like  he  sways  his  pillow  —  tumbling 
and  tossing,  and  shifting,  and  lowering,  and  thumping, 
and  flatting,  and  moulding  it  to  the  ever-varying  requi- 
sitions of  his  throbbing  temples  !  —  Lamb. 

Sickness  is  early  old  age ;  it  teaches  us  diffidence  in 
our  earthly  state,  and  inspires  us  with  thoughts  of  a 
future.  —  Pope. 

Every  new  case  in  a  household  should  be  dealt  with 
as  if  it  were  a  stranger's,  and  outside  familiarity  should 
not  be  allowed  to  breed  contempt  of  caution  in  study  or 
lead  to  half  measures. —  Dr.  Mitchell. 

The  social  nearness  of  the  doctor  to  his  patient  is  a 
common  cause  of  inert  advice,  and  nowhere  more  dis- 
tinctly so  than  when  unwise  physicians  attempt  to  prac- 
tise in  their  own  households  on  those  they  love.  —  Dr. 
Mitchell. 

There  are  very  few  instances  of  chronic  ailments,  how- 
ever slight,  which  should  not  be  met  by  advice  as  to 
modes  of  living,  in  the  full  breadth  of  this  term ;  and 
only  by  a  competent  union  of  such,  with  reasonable  use  of 
drugs,  can  all  be  done  most  speedily  that  should  be  done. 
I  am  far  from  wishing  to  make  any  one  believe  that 
medicines  are  valueless.  Nor  do  I  think  that  the  most 
extreme  dosing  employed  nowadays  by  any  one  is  as 
really  hurtful  as  the  neglect  to  urge  efficiently  the  value 


THE  HEALER'S   MISSION.  247 

of  definite  hygienic  means.  There  are,  indeed,  diseases 
which  can  only  be  helped  by  heroic  measures ;  but  in  this 
case  were  I  the  patient  I  should  like  to  be  pretty  certain 
as  to  the  qualifications  of  my  hero.  —  Dr.  Mitchell. 

Sometimes  it  is  undesirable  to  give  explanations  until 
they  can  be  securely  correct,  or  haply  the  sick  man  is 
too  ill  to  receive  them.  Then  we  are  apt,  and  wisely,  to 
treat  some  dominant  symptom,  and  to  wait  until  the 
disease  assumes  definite  shape.  So  it  is  that  much  of 
what  we  give  is  mild  enough.  —  Dr.  Mitchell. 

Within  a  few  years  the  instruments  of  precision  have 
so  multiplied  that  a  well-trained  consultant  may  be  called 
on  to  know  and  handle  as  many  tools  as  a  mechanic. 
Their  use,  the  exactness  they  teach  and  demand,  the 
increasing  refinement  in  drugs  and  our  ability  to  give 
them  in  condensed  forms,  all  tend  towards  making  the 
physician  more  accurate,  and  by  overtaxing  him,  owing 
to  the  time  all  such  methodical  studies  require,  have  made 
his  work  such  that  only  the  patient  and  the  dutiful  can 
do  it  justice.  — Dr.  Mitchell. 


MUSIC — VOCAL   AND  INSTRUMENTAL.       249 

but  the  instrument  before  him.  We  cannot  take  it  for 
granted  that  you  belong  to  either  of  these  extremes,  but 
must  suppose  you  to  be  a  girl  with  at  least  an  average 
voice  for  singing,  and  as  much  of  a  liking  for  music  as 
the  majority  of  young  women. 

It  is  a  very  broad  field  that  we  are  to  survey,  for 
music  is  of  many  kinds,  and  each  kind  requires  a  special 
training.  And  if  you  are*  to  consider  it  as  a  means  of 
livelihood,  you  have  not  only  to  select  the  particular 
branch  that  you  will  take  up,  but  having  made  that 
selection  you  must  determine  whether  you  will  use  it  as 
a  performer  or  as  a  teacher  —  for  a  teacher's  training 
differs  somewhat  from  a  performer's.  Such  a  performer 
upon  the  piano  as  Paderewski,  for  instance,  could  doubt- 
less command  great  prices  if  he  would  give  lessons,  on 
account  of  his  reputation ;  but  we  can  easily  see  why 
his  instruction  might  not  be  as  valuable  as  that  of  some 
obscure  teacher  at  five  dollars  a  week,  because  although 
he  has  the  knowledge  and  skill  himself,  he  may  not  have 
the  knack  of  imparting  them  to  others. 

Music  is  one  of  the  fields  that  woman  enters  of  her 
own  right,  without  waiting  for  man  to  give  her  a  ticket. 
If  poor  weak  man  is  crowded  to  the  wall,  that  is  his  own 
lookout ;  and  you  may  find,  possibly,  some  men  in  the 
profession  who  would  do  much  better  for  themselves  and 
for  the  world  if  when  crowded  to  the  wall  they  would 
climb  over  it  and  set  their  muscles  to  work  on  the  other 
side  of  it.  The  same  may  unfortunately  be  said  of  some 
women  in  the  profession ;  and  women,  less  expert  in 
climbing,  find  it  harder  to  get  over  the  wall,  and  lean 
against  it  in  despair.  Such  a  thorough  musical  training 
as  will  give  a  girl  any  chance  to  become  one  of  the 
celebrated  and  high-priced  musicians  takes  so  much  time, 
so  much  money,  and  so  unfits  her  for  making  her  way 
in  any  other  occupation  if  she  does  not  succeed,  that  I 


250  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

must  suggest  to  you  in  the  beginning  that  you  give  the 
subject  much  more  than  due  deliberation.  It  is  heart- 
breaking for  a  girl  to  spend  all  of  her  early  life,  to  call 
upon  her  friends  for  the  money  for  years  of  expensive  prep- 
aration, only  to  find  herself  a  musical  failure  at  the  end. 

Let  us  look  at  singing  first.  Every  little  town,  every 
Sunday-school  in  the  city,  has  its  sweet  little  girl  singer. 
Perhaps  you  are  one  of  them.-  Every  one  who  hears  you 
praises  you,  and  even  your  parents  are  convinced  that 
you  are  destined  to  be  a  great  singer.  At  this  stage  it 
is  your  parents  who  are  responsible  for  what  happens  to 
you,  for  you  are  only  standing  on  the  threshold  of  the  open 
door  of  life  and  looking  in.  Some  singer  of  repute  comes 
into  your  neighborhood  and  you  are  taken  to  sing  before 
her,  and  she  too  praises  your  voice,  and  advises  you  to  cul- 
tivate it,  and  there  is  one  of  your  first  dangers.  Madame 
Smith-Jones,  the  great  prima  donna,  is  a  good-natured 
lady,  or  she  would  not  let  you  bore  her  by  singing  to  her 
(for  it  is  a  bore  to  her,  you  may  be  sure),  and  being  good- 
natured  it  is  much  easier  for  her  to  praise  a  little  girl's 
singing  than  to  condemn  it,  and  she  does  praise  it,  and 
that  becomes  one  the  mile-stones  in  your  family  life,  and 
ever  afterward  visitors  are  told  that  you  sang  before  the 
great  Madame  Smith-Jones  before  you  were  twelve  years 
old,  and  that  she  praised  you  highly.  How  are  your 
parents  to  know  the  eccentricities  of  great  singers  ?  How 
are  they  to  know  that  she  gave  the  same  amiable  opinion 
to  the  sweet  little  singer  in  the  next  town,  and  the  next, 
and  the  next  ?  Or  that  she  always  gives  a  favorable  opin- 
ion, because  such  opinions  save  much  trouble  ? 

Then  in  due  course  you  are  taken  to  a  teacher  in  the 
neighboring  city,  and  he  finds  something  delicate  and 
strong  and  .excellent  in  your  voice,  without  doubt,  be- 
cause his  future  fees  depend  upon  his  finding  such  things. 
And  so  you  are  led  on  and  on,  with  nothing  but  praise 


MUSIC — VOCAL   AND  INSTRUMENTAL.       251 

anywhere,  and  you  and  your  friends  see  a  great  career 
before  you.  After  long  training  at  home  you  go  abroad, 
and  spend  more  years  and  dollars  in  some  of  the  European 
capitals  under  the  best  teachers,  and  at  last  you  are  pro- 
nounced ready  for  an  engagement,  not  of  marriage,  but 
professionally.  So  far  you  have  been  entirely  "  wedded 
to  your  art,"  and  have  given  no  thought  to  marriage 
except  to  declare  against  it.  It  is  only  now,  when  your 
career  is  about  to  open,  that  you  make  the  astonishing 
discovery  that  some  young  men  are  worthy  of  careful 
attention.  But  this  marriage  question  is  the  same  in  all 
other  professions,  so  we  need  not  go  here  as  far  as-  the 
engagement  ring.  You  are  ready  to  begin  to  earn  money 
instead  of  spending  it,  and  you  may  prove  such  a  success 
from  the  very  start  that  all  that  has  been  spent  upon 
you  is  soon  repaid.  That  sometimes  happens.  But  by 
this  time  you  will  be  wise  enough  to  reflect  that  of  the 
two  thousand  girl  students  you  have  been  associated  with 
in  various  places,  not  more  than  two  will  be  likely  to 
achieve  such  a  success.  And  if  you  are  not  one  of  those 
two,  what  then  ?  It  is  on  account  of  the  weeping  and 
wailing  and  gnashing  of  teeth  of  the  other  nineteen  hun- 
dred and  ninety-eight  girls  that  I  try  to  make  these  risks 
plain  to  you. 

By  good  luck  or  good  management  you  obtain  a  chance 
to  sing  a  solo  in  a  concert  in  Albert  Hall  or  St.  James 
Hall  in  London,  and  that  chance  alone  is  something  of 
a  triumph,  as  you  will  agree  after  you  learn  how  hard  it 
is  to  get  such  an  opportunity,  without  thought  of  pay. 
That  is  the  most  critical  audience  in  the  metropolis  of 
the  world,  and  if  you  can  captivate  it  you  may  in  a  year 
or  two  come  home  in  your  own  yacht,  and  pay  off  the 
mortgage  on  the  farm.  It  is  not  the  audience  you  used 
to  sing  to  at  home,  nor  is  the  hall  a  counterpart  of  the 
old  Sunday-school   room.     The   voice  that   was    a    real 


252  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

spell-binder  in  the  village  church  may  be  completely  lost 
and  buried  in  one  of  those  great  halls,  however  sweet  or 
cultivated. 

It  is  not  only  possible,  it  is  highly  probable  (if  you 
calculate  the  chances  as  an  insurance  company  reckons 
chances)  that  the  interest  created  by  your  performance 
will  be  only  momentary,  and  that  before  dinner-time  you 
will  be  totally  forgotten.  And  a  singer  forgotten  is  a 
singer  done  for.  "  She  has  no  depth,"  "  she  lacks 
physique,"  "  what  a  pity  she  has  not  had  better  train- 
ing ! "  "  she  is  not  in  the  least  attractive,"  "she  is  dread- 
fully awkward,"  are  some  of  the  pretty  things  said  about 
you  for  a  few  moments,  and  then  —  bring  on  the  next, 
Mr.  Manager.  Suppose  that  no  miracle  happens  and 
that  this  common  experience  becomes  your  experience  ? 
And  the  subsequent  common  experiences  with  managers, 
one  of  whom  refuses  you  because  you  are  not  pretty, 
another  because  you  very  properly  refuse  to  appear  in 
tights,  and  fifty  more  for  fifty  other  equally  good  reasons, 
until  at  the  disheartening  end  you,  with  all  your  train- 
ing, are  singing  in  the  chorus  for  ten  dollars  a  week. 
Where  the  chance  of  great  success  is  less  than  one  in  a 
thousand  is  it  not  well  for  me  to  advise  you  to  ring  three 
bells,  like  a  steamboat,  and  "  proceed  with  caution  "  ? 

If  all  these  rocks  I  have  been  pointing  out  prove  no 
stumbling-blocks  to  you  the  time  will  come  when  you 
will  desire  to  go  abroad  to  finish  your  musical  education. 
This  is  not  so  much  a  necessity  from  the  educational 
standpoint  as  for  some  other  good  reasons.  You  can  get, 
at  any  rate,  very  nearly  as  good  musical  instruction  in 
this  country  as  you  can  get  in  Europe ;  but  the  general 
impression  is  so  strong  that  European  teachers  give  a 
finish  not  to  be  acquired  elsewhere,  that  a  European 
training  adds  considerably  to  a  singer's  advantages  ;  and 
the  cost,  for  a  considerable  period,  is  little  more  than 


MUSIC — VOCAL   AND  INSTRUMENTAL.       253 

the  cost  at  home  if  you  have  to  pay  your  way  in  an 
American  city,  because  European  prices  are  lower  than 
ours. 

On  this  subject  Madam  Emma  Nevada,  the  prima 
donna,  has  recently  published  an  article  in  the  "  Satur- 
day Evening  Post,"  of  Philadelphia,  so  full  of  good  advice 
that  I  wish  I  could  print  it  here  entire^  instead  of  giving 
only  a  few  extracts  from  it.  The  title  of  the  article  is  "  The 
American  Girl  in  Musical  Paris  ; "  and  you  will  see  from 
the  extracts  I  can  give  from  it  that  she,  too,  advises  girls 
to  move  cautiously  in  this  matter.  She  does  not  wish  to 
discourage  you  any  more  than  I  do  in  what  I  have  just 
written,  but  she  tells  the  facts  plainly,  so  that  her  coun- 
try-women may  know  what  to  expect. 

"  Paris  is  the  one  place  on  earth,"  she  says,  "  where 
one  may  make  a  truly  great  success,  and  the  hardest 
place  on  earth  in  which  to  fail.  Out  of  the  fulness  of 
many  years'  experience  in  the  Erench  metropolis,  I  coun- 
sel the  American  girl  who  would  succeed  in  the  musical 
world  to  go  to  Paris  —  under  certain  conditions  ;  and  by 
all  means  to  remain  at  home  if  these  conditions  are  not 
fulfilled. 

"  When  a  young  girl  tells  me  that  she  is  going  to  Paris, 
alone  and  with  little  money,  to  study  music,  I  tremble. 
I  know  what  it  means.  I  do  not  care  if  she  has  the 
making  of  a  real  artist.  If  she  is  pretty  so  much  the 
worse,  for  the  temptations  in  her  pathway  will  be 
doubled.  If  she  has  no  mother,  brother,  or  constant 
chaperone  to  attend  her  wherever  she  goes  her  struggle 
will  be  a  very  bitter  one.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  affirm 
that  to  send  a  poor  girl  to  Paris  alone  to  cultivate  her 
voice  is  nothing  short  of  a  crime. 

"  I  have  seen  American  girls  come  to  Paris  by  twos  and 
threes ;  take  up  residence  in  some  obscure  pension,  and 
travel  about  the  boulevards  with  the  independent  air  of 


254  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

American  girls  in  onr  own  great  cities,  under  the  im 
pression  that  their  very  independence  clothed  them  with 
divinity  and  protected  them  from  insult.  Such  is  not 
the  case.  Conditions  in  Paris  are  not  those  of  New 
York,  and  public  opinion  is  merciless.  As  for  the  many 
professors  of  music,  they  are  very  exacting ;  and  the 
unchaperoned  girl  gets  very  close  scrutiny.  If  she  is 
found  to  be  poor,  even  if  her  voice  is  of  exceptional 
promise,  she  is  politely  bidden  to  apply  elsewhere. 

"The  first  condition  of  success  is  that  the  aspirant 
shall  have  a  voice ;  then  she  must  have  money,  and  she 
should  have  a  constant  friend  and  protector  in  her  diffi- 
cult journey  and  be  prepared  for  the  hard  work  which 
naturally  follows.  On  the  subject  of  hard  work  it  seems 
that  I  could  write  volumes.  The  great  bane  to  the  musical 
profession  nowadays  is  the  prevailing  delusion  that  long 
and  bitter  labor  to  the  great  end  is  not  so  necessary  now  as 
in  times  past.  I  do  know,  however,  that  there  is  more 
poor  singing  throughout  Europe  now  than  ever  before. 

"  |  What 's  the  use  ? '  said  an  impresario  to  me  one  day, 
when  I  brought  to  him  an  American  girl  who  had  a  mag- 
nificent voice,  hoping  that  he  would  interest  himself  in 
her  welfare.  'There  are  plenty  of  American  girls  over 
here  whose  frocks  are  lined  with  thousand-franc  notes. 
Why,  your  candidate  is  so  poor  that  she  is  actually  dowdy 
in  her  last  year's  gown ! '  And  this  with  an  inflection 
that  implied  a  crime  on  the  applicant's  part.  He  would 
not  even  try  her  voice. 

"  Let  me  say,  then,  that  the  American  girl  who  has  not 
a  perfectly  phenomenal  voice,  abundance  of  means  at  her 
disposal,  a  capacity  for  hard  work,  and  a  large  fund  of 
health  and  strength,  had  better  stay  at  home,  for  Paris 
is  no  place  for  her. 

"  Parisian  life  is  the  great  alchemist  of  human  nature. 
It  changes  everything  with  which  it  comes  in  contact. 


MUSIC — VOCAL   AND  INSTRUMENTAL.       255 

"  There  is  no  human  suffering  more  keen  than  failure 
in  a  great  cause  of  art ;  and  where  one  succeeds  the  ten 
thousand  fail  and  retreat  into  oblivion." 

So  I  was  extremely  moderate  in  estimating  one  success 
in  a  thousand,  since  Madame  Nevada  puts  it  at  one  in 
ten  thousand.  It  is  a  serious  question  for  you  to  con- 
sider with  your  knowledge  of  your  own  ability  whether 
you  have  a  reasonable  chance  of  becoming  that  one. 

But  public  singing  is  only  one  of  many  ways  in  which 
musical  talents  may  be  put  to  use.  Piano-playing  is  an 
important  matter  for  a  musician,  and  this  can  hardly  be 
begun  too  early  in  life.  And  yet  good  authorities  tell 
us  that  early  training  alone  will  not  insure  great  skill. 
Browning's  little  son  was  able  to  play  Beethoven's  Sonata, 
opus  7,  in  E  fiat,  before  he  was  ten  years  old ;  and  you 
have  sufficient  musical  knowledge,  doubtless,  to  know 
how  difficult  that  is.  But  he  was  never  more  than  an 
amateur,  and  eventually  became  an  artist.  "While  a 
musical  ear  can  be  cultivated  to  a  certain  extent,"  says 
Mrs.  Kate  S.  Chittenden,  a  high  authority  on  this  sub- 
ject, "and  taste  can  be  stimulated,  yet  one  must  have 
been  born  with  a  natural  aptitude  for  the  art  to  become  a 
good  musician." 

You  must  have  a  talent  for  the  branch  of  music  you 
incline  to,  whether  the  talent  be  natural  or  acquired. 
And  how  are  you  to  know  whether  you  have  this  talent 
or  not  ?  You  cannot  judge  for  yourself,  and  in  most 
cases  your  parents  cannot  tell  you.  Then  suppose  you 
take  exactly  the  same  common-sense  course  that  I  should 
take  if  I  were  going  to  buy  a  farm.  I  should  begin  with 
the  supposition  that  I  know  nothing  whatever  about 
soils,  and  should  induce  some  friend  who  was  a  good 
farmer  to  go  with  me  to  see  the  farm  selected.  But  his 
opinion  would  not  satisfy  me,  because  he  might  be  inter- 
ested or  he  might   be   mistaken.     So   I   should  induce 


256  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

another  one  to  go,  at  a  different  time.  And  still  another, 
and  still  another,  if  possible,  until  I  had  at  least  three  or 
four  expert  and  unbiased  opinions  of  that  land.  Then  a 
neighboring  real  estate  agent  or  two  to  judge  of  its 
money  value.  By  that  time  I  should  have  a  pretty  good 
idea  of  what  I  was  doing.  And  in  the  same  way  you, 
with  your  musical  talents,  should  have  the  favorable 
judgment  of  several  experts,  as  many  as  possible,  in- 
stead of  spending  years  of  time  and  thousands  of  dollars 
with  no  better  basis  than  the  hasty  decision  of  one  per- 
haps too-good-natured  singer  or  player  of  renown,  backed 
by  the  interested  opinions  of  your  instructors.  You  can 
proceed  in  this  as  in  everything  else,  in  a  business-like 
way. 

The  opportunities  for  instruction  in  all  branches  of 
music  are  almost  without  number  in  the  large  cities. 
Most  of  the  girls'  colleges,  too,  naturally  make  music  an 
important  branch  of  study.  For  fuller  particulars  than 
I  can  give  here  about  any  department  you  are  specially 
interested  in,  write  to  the  New  York  Conservatory  of 
Music.     Following  is  the  course  in  music  as  outlined  in 

WELLESLEY  COLLEGE. 
MUSIC. 

I.    THEORY. 

The  following  courses  count  toward  the  bachelor's  degree.  They  may  be 
elected  by  students  not  taking  instrumental  or  vocal  music,  and  are  subject  to  no 
separate  tuition  fee. 

1.  Elementary  Harmony.  Open  to  sophomores,  juniors,  and 
seniors,  who  can  read  and  play  simple  four-part  music. 
Three  hours  per  week  for  a  year. 

Mrs.  Stovall. 

The  object  of  this  course  is  to  give  the  student  a  knowledge  of  intervals, 
chords,  their  relations  and  progressions.  The  work  is  conducted  upon  the  con- 
trapuntal principle  in  order  to  give  some  knowledge  also  of  the  laws  which 
govern  melody.     To  evolve  out  of  simple  harmonic   (or  chord)  conditions  the 


MUSIC —  VOCAL   AND  INSTBUMENTAL.       257 

greatest  possible  degree  of  melody  is  the  end  constantly  in  view.  In  addition 
to  the  written  work  students  are  required  to  play  chord  progressions,  and 
also  to  recognize  them  when  heard. 

2.  Advanced    Harmony.      Open  to  students   who   have   completed 

course  2.      Three  hours  per  week  for  a  year. 

Mrs.  Stovall. 

In  this  course  the  student  is  expected  to  make  practical  application  of  har- 
monic material  in  original  phrases  and  periods.  Modulation  and  inharmonic 
tones  are  thoroughly  treated.  Given  basses  used  as  canti  firmi  are  to  be  sup- 
plied with  one,  two,  and  three  additional  melodious  parts.  Instrumental  as  well 
as  vocal  styles  are  studied. 
I 

3.  Ear  Training  and   Choral  Practice.      Open  to  all  students  on 

approval  of  the  instructors.      One  hour  per  week  for  a  year. 

Mrs.  Stovall,  Mr.  Rotoli. 

This  course  combines  the  rudiments  of  musical  construction  with  systematic 
ear  training.  It  aims  to  give  a  substantial  foundation  for  further  work  and  to 
enable  the  student  to  listen  to  music  with  intelligent  interest  and  genuine  profit. 
One  hour  is  given  to  choral  practice,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Rotoli;  the 
work  in  ear  training  is  under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Stovall. 

4.  Musical  Form.      Open,  by  permission  of  the  instructor,  to  stu- 

dents who  have  completed  course  2.      Three  hours  per  week 
for  a  yea/r. 

Mrs.  Stovall. 
The  analytic  and  synthetic  study  of  form. 

5.  History  of  Music.      Open  to  sophomores,  juniors,  and  seniors 

who  can  read  and  play  music  of  ordinary  difficulty.      Two 
hours  per  week  for  a  year. 

Mrs.  Stovall. 
Lectures,  reading,  discussions. 

This  course  attempts  to  give  a  general  survey  of  the  subject-  Emphasis  is 
given,  however,  to  modern  music  —  to  the  great  art  forms  and  the  composers 
who  have  developed  them.  Students  are  referred  in  their  reading  to  both  music 
and  musical  literature. 

II.    INSTRUMENTAL   AND   VOCAL   MUSIC. 

Training  in  instrumental  or  vocal  music  does  not  count  toward  a 
degree ;  but  any  student  who  completes  the  prescribed  courses  in 
Piano,  Organ,  or  Voice  will  receive  the  certificate  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Music. 

Candidates  for  the  certificate  of  the  Department  of  Music  may 
devote  all  their  time  to  music,  except  that  which  is  given  to  three 
academic  studies,  including  a  course  in  BibMcal  History  and  Litera- 


258  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

ture.  Candidates  for  admission  must  present  the  maximum  prep- 
aration in  either  Latin,  Greek,  French,  or  German.  The  time  occu- 
pied in  study  for  a  certificate  depends  upon  the  proficiency  of  the 
pupil,  but  in  general  four  years  are  needed. 

Candidates  for  the  B.A.  degree  may  take  a  course  in  vocal  or 
instrumental  music  in  connection  with  their  regular  academic  work, 
but  in  this  case  five  years  are  required  for  the  completion  of  the 
courses  requisite  to  the  degree. 

Special  students  may  arrange  for  courses  combining  greater  or 
less  amounts  of  music  and  academic  work. 

Those  who  are  suitably  qualified  may  pursue  musical  studies 
exclusively,  without  being  otherwise  connected  with  the  college. 
For  such  students  special  arrangements  may  be  made. 

CERTIFICATE    OF    THE    DEPARTMENT    OF    MUSIC. 

Any  student  in  the  college  who  completes  any  one  of  the  fol- 
lowing courses  of  study  will  receive  the  certificate  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Music : 

A.  Piano :  two  lessons  a  week,  with  periods  of  practice  daily  for 

five  days  each  week. 
Academic  subjects  :  from  six  to  eight  hours  a  week  throughout 
the  course,  including  Musical  Theory  (courses  1,  2,  and  5),  Modern 
Language,  and  Biblical  History  and  Literature. 

B.  Organ  :   two  lessons  a  week  with  daily  practice,  as  in  piano 

study.     Academic  subjects  as  in  A. 

C.  Voice :  two  lessons  a  week  with   daily  practice.     Academic 

subjects  as  in  A,  but  the  modern  languages  pursued  must 
include  Italian,  which  should  be  taken  as  early  as  possible, 
that  the  student  may  have  the  benefit  of  the  subject  through- 
out the  course. 
Violin,  Viola,  Violoncello,  Harp,  or  any  orchestral  instrument  may 
be  made  a  specialty  instead  of  the  abovermentioned  principal 
studies. 

Students  intending  to  apply  for  the  certificate  of  the  Department 
of  Music  must  give  at  least  a  year's  notice.  Voice  and  organ 
students  are  not  obliged  to  spend  the  required  four  periods  upon 
their  specialty  alone,  but  may  combine  with  that  some  other 
branch  of  music. 


MUSIC—  VOCAL   AND  INSTRUMENTAL.       259 


Those  who  make  piano  their  specialty,  and  wish  to  obtain  a 
certificate,  should,  upon  entering,  be  familiar  with  correct  phras- 
ing, staccato  and  legato  touch,  the  ordinary  musical  signs,  and 
their  application ;  should  show  technical  proficiency,  and  should 
present  the  following  work  or  its  equivalent :  Czerny,  Op.  299, 
three  books  ;  Loeschhorn,  Op.  66,  three  books ;  Bach,  Preludes  ; 
and  two  or  three  sonatas  by  Haydn  and  Mozart*. 

The  course  will  be  adapted  to  the  particular  needs  of  the  student, 
but  will  be  so  arranged  that  the  student  upon  its  completion  shall 
have  a  fundamental  knowledge  of  the  best  works  in  pianoforte 
literature :  Bach,  Handel,  Mozart,  Haydn,  Beethoven,  Schubert, 
Schumann,  Weber,  Mendelssohn,  and  Chopin,  as  well  as  the 
different  schools  of  modern  writers. 

Attention  will  also  be  given  to  four-hand  playing  and,  for  those 
who  are  sufficiently  advanced,  to  playing  with  other  instruments. 

ORGAN. 

A  satisfactory  knowledge  of  pianoforte  technique  is  a  pre-requi- 
site  to  the  study  of  the  organ. 

The  course  consists  of  systematic  drill  in  organ  technique, 
special  exercises  in  playing  church  music,  and  careful  study  of 
works  by  the  best  composers,  representing  the  different  schools  of 
organ  music. 

A  shorter  course  may  be  arranged  for  students  desiring  to  limit 
themselves  to  the  work  of  a  church  organist. 

u  .     .     .     And  when  a  damp 
Fell  round  the  path  of  Milton,  in  his  hand 
The  thing  became  a  trumpet ;  whence  he  blew 
Soul-animating  strains,  —  alas  !  too  few." 

Wordsworth. 


260  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 

"  HOW    MANY    A    TALE    THEIR    MUSIC    TELLS  !  " 

A  good  ear  for  music,  and  a  good  taste  for  music,  are 
two  very  different  things  which  are  often  confounded ; 
and  so  is  comprehending  and  enjoying  every  object  of 
sense  and  sentiment.  —  Lord  Greville. 

Music  is  the  only  sensual  gratification  which  mankind 
may  indulge  in  to  excess  without  injury  to  their  moral 
or  religious  feelings.  —  Addison. 

If  you  love  music,  hear  it ;  go  to  operas,  concerts,  and 
pay  fiddlers  to  play  to  you.  But  I  insist  upon  your 
neither  piping  nor  fiddling  yourself.  It  puts  a  gentleman 
in  a  very  frivolous,  contemptible  light;  brings  him  into 
a  great  deal  of  bad  company,  and  takes  up  a  great  deal 
of  time  which  might  be  much  better  employed.  — 
Chesterfield. 

The  province  of  music  is  rather  to  express  the  passions 
and  feelings  of  the  human  heart  than  the  actions  of  men, 
or  the  operations  of  nature.  When  employed  in  the 
former  capacity  it  becomes  an  eloquent  language ;  when 
in  the  latter  a  mere  mimic,  —  an  imitator,  and  a  very 
miserable  one, — or  rather  a  buffoon,  caricaturing  what 
it  cannot  imitate ;  the  idea  of  the  different  stages  of  a 
battle  or  the  progress  of  a  tempest  being  represented 
to  the  eye  or  the  ear,  or  even  the  imagination,  by  the 
quavering  of  a  fiddler's  elbow,  or  the  squeaking  of  cat- 
gut, is  preposterous.  —  G.  P.  Morris. 


"HOW  MANY  A    TALE  THEIR  MUSIC   TELLS!"   261 

Music  may  be  classed  into  natural,  social,  sacred,  and 
martial ;  it  is  the  twin  sister  of  poetry,  and  like  it  has 
the  power  to  sway  the  feelings  and  command  the  mind; 
in  devotion  it  breathes  the  pure  spirit  of  inspiration 
and  love ;  in  martial  scenes  it  rouses  the  soul  to  fearless 
deeds  of  daring  and  valor,  while  it  alleviates  the  cares 
and  enhances  the  innocent  and  cheerful  enjoyments  of 
domestic  life.  —  Acton. 

Music,  once  admitted  to  the  soul,  becomes  a  sort  of 
spirit,  and  never  dies ;  it  wanders  perturbedly  through 
the  halls  and  galleries  of  the  memory,  and  is  often  heard 
again,  distinct  and  living  as  when  it  first  displaced  the 
wavelets  of  the  air.  — Bulwer. 

Had  I  children,  my  utmost  endeavors  should  be  to 
make  them  musicians.  Considering  that  I  have  no  ear, 
nor  even  thought  of  music,  the  preference  seems  odd, 
and  yet  it  is  embraced  on  frequent  reflection.  —  Horace 
Walpole. 

Young  voices  around  the  domestic  altar,  breathing 
sacred  music  at  the  hour  of  morning  and  evening  devo- 
tion, are  a  sweet  and  touching  accompaniment.  — Arvine. 

Music  is  the  child  of  prayer,  the  companion  of  religion. 
—  Chateaubriand. 

It  is  in  learning  music  that  many  youthful  hearts 
learn  to  love.  —  Ricard. 

Music  is  a  harbinger  of  eternal  melody.  —  Mozart. 

Music  washes  away  from  the  soul  the  dust  of  every- 
day life.  —  Auerbach. 


262  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS    GIRLS. 

God  save  me  from  a  poor  fiddler  who  knows  nothing 
of  music.  —  Geminiani. 

Music  must  begin  in  harmony,  continue  in  harmony, 
and  end  in  harmony.  —  Confucius. 

There  is  something  in  the  shape  of  harps  as  though 
they  had  been  made  by  music.  —  Bailey. 

The  person  who  desires  to  cultivate  a  discriminating 
taste  in  music  may  acquire  the  fundamental  knowledge 
in  a  few  short  months.  After  that,  one  needs  only  to 
live  much  in  an  atmosphere  of  good  music  until  the 
acquired  principles  become  unconsciously  the  moving 
factors  underlying  all  attention  to  the  art.  —  W.  J.  Hen- 
derson. 

Music  is  an  art.  It  is  a  thing  of  law  and  order.  There 
is  no  ineffable  mystery  and  miracle  about  it  which  may 
not  be  understood  by  the  average  man.  —  W.  J.  Hender- 


The  essential  qualities  of  greatness  in  a  musical  sub- 
ject are  not  to  be  described.  The  loftiness  of  their 
thought  commands  an  immediate  recognition  from  the 
cultured  mind,  and  that  recognition,  by  force  of  habit, 
becomes  immediate  and  almost  instinctive.  No  practised 
listener  to  music  is  often  at  a  loss  to  decide  whether  a 
theme  is  dignified  or  trivial.  The  power  to  recognize  the 
elevation  of  a  fine  musical  thought  must  come  from  con- 
tinued musical  high-thinking.  One  must  live  with  the 
masters  and  absorb  the  spirit  of  their  nobility.  There 
is  no  other  way  to  learn  to  discern  the  excellence  of 
musical  ideas.  —  W.  J.  Henderson. 


"HOW  MANY  A    TALE  THEIR  MUSIC   TELLS!"    263 

Music  is  the  art  of  the  prophets,  the  only  art  that  can 
calm  the  agitation  of  the  soul;  it  is  one  of  the  most 
magnificent  and  delightful  presents  God  has  given  us.  — 
Martin  Luther. 

The  lines  of  poetry,  the  periods  of  prose,  and  even  the 
texts  of  Scripture  most  frequently  recollected  and  quoted, 
are  those  which  are  felt  to  be  preeminently  musical.  — 
Shenstone. 

Music  is  like  the  spirit ;  it  never  dies.  —  Shield. 

The  person  who  desires  to  cultivate  a  taste  in  music 
ought  to  be  acquainted,  first  of  all,  with  musical  form 
and  the  history  of  music.  From  the  first  he  will  learn 
to  perceive  the  structure,  the  artistic  design,  of  every 
composition  to  which  he  listens,  and  from  the  second  he 
will  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  period  to  which  a  com- 
position belongs,  and  of  the  state  of  development  of  the 
art,  of  the  purposes  and  possibilities  of  composition  at 
that  time.  —  Henderson. 

In  music,  form  is  the  first  manifestation  of  law. 
Music  is  to  be  conceived  primarily  as  presented  to  the 
hearing.  The  printed  page  of  a  composition  is  not 
music ;  it  is  merely  the  record  of  music.  The  music  it- 
self has  no  existence  except  when  it  is  sounded  by  instru- 
ment or  voice,  and  heard.  There  are  very  few  persons, 
even  among  professional  musicians,  who  are  capable  of 
imagining  the  precise  sound  of  a  composition  from  read- 
ing the  printed  page.  —  Henderson. 

The  music-lover,  by  examining  any  simple  air,  will  find 
that  at  regular  intervals  the  initial  notes  of  the  melody 
are  repeated,  as  for  example  in  "  Home,  Sweet  Home," 


264  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

and  that  it  is  the  repetition  of  these  notes  that  identifies 
the  tune.  Thus  we  come  upon  the  elementary  fact  that 
a  musical  form  is  dependent  upon  the  more  or  less  regu- 
lar repetition  of  some  recognized  bit  of  melody.  — Hen- 
derson. 

Mozart  was  a  man  whose  mission  in  the  world  seems 
to  have  been  entirely  fulfilled,  to  whom  it  was  given  to 
link  together  the  godlike  with  humanity,  the  mortal  with 
the  immortal  —  a  man  whose  footprints  not  all  the  storms 
of  time  can  ever  efface  —  a  man  who,  amid  all  his  lofty 
aims,  esteemed  the  loftiest  of  all  to  be  the  elevation  of 
humanity.  —  Nohl. 

Have  you  real  talent  —  real  feeling  for  art?  Then 
study  music  —  do  something  worthy  of  the  art — and 
dedicate  your  whole  soul  to  the  beloved  saint.  —  Long- 
fellow. 

Singing  is  an  accomplishment  we  can  carry  with  us  to 
heaven.  —  Maria  L.  Pizzoli. 

Melody,  both  vocal  and  instrumental,  is  for  the  raising 
up  of  men's  hearts,  and  the  sweetening  their  affections 
toward  God.  —  Hooker. 

The  effect  of  good  music  is  not  caused  by  its  novelty. 
On  the  contrary,  it  strikes  us  more  the  more  we  are 
familiar  with  it.  —  Goethe. 

The  emotional  force  in  women  is  usually  stronger,  and 
always  more  delicate,  than  in  men.  Their  constitutions 
are  like  those  fine  violins  which  vibrate  to  the  lightest 
touch.     Women  are  the  great  listeners,  not  only  to  elo- 


"HOW  MANY  A    TALE   THEIR  MUSIC   TELLS!"    265 

quence,  but  also  to  music.  The  wind  has  swept  many  an 
^Eolian  lyre,  but  never  such  a  sensitive  harp  as  a  woman's 
soul.  In  listening  to  music,  her  face  is  often  lighted  up 
with  tenderness,  with  mirth,  or  with  the  simple  expan- 
siveness  of  intense  pleasure.  Her  attitude  changes 
unconsciously  with  the  truest,  because  the  most  natural, 
domestic  feeling.  The  woman's  temperament  is  natu- 
rally artistic,  not  in  a  creative,  but  in  a  receptive  sense. 
—  H.  R.  Haweis. 

She  warbled  Handel :  it  was  grand, 

She  made  the  Catalina  jealous ; 
She  touched  the  organ  :  I  could  stand 

For  hours  and  hours  to  blow  the  bellows. 

W.  M.  Praed. 

Music  should  strike  fire  from  the  heart  of  man  and 
bring  tears  from  the  eyes  of  woman.  —  Beethoven. 

Where  there  is  genius  it  does  not  much  matter  in  what 
manner  it  appears  —  whether  in  the  depth,  as  in  Bach, 
or  in  the  height,  as  in  Mozart,  or  whether  alike  in  depth 
and  in  height,  as  in  Beethoven.  —  Schumann. 

There  is  something  deep  and  good  in  melody,  for  body 
and  soul  go  strangely  together.  —  Carlyle. 

Since  singing  is  so  good  a  thing, 
I  wish  all  men  would  learn  to  sing. 

T.  Baldwin. 

Music  alone  ushers  man  into  the  portal  of  an  intellectual 
world,  ready  to  encompass  him,  but  which  he  may  never 
encompass.     That   mind   alone  whose  every  thought  is 


266  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

rhythm  can  embody  music,  can  comprehend  its  mysteries, 
its  divine  inspirations,  and  can  alone  speak  to  the  senses 
of  its  intellectual  revelations.  —  Beethoven. 

All  musical  people  seem  to  be  happy.  It  is  the 
engrossing  pursuit  —  almost  the  only  innocent  and  un- 
punished passion.  —  Sydney  Smith. 

Some  to  church  repair, 
Not  for  the  doctrine,  but  the  music  there. 

Pope. 


ROSA   BON H EUR. 


ABT  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD.  267 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


ART    AT    HOME    AND    ABROAD. 


"  It  is  the  glory  and  good  of  Art 
That  Art  remains  the  one  way  possible 
Of  speaking  truth,  — to  mouths  like  mine,  at  least." 

Browning. 

"  We  never  consciously  began.  We  always  drew  and 
painted.  We  should  not  have  known  how  to  keep  from 
it."  So  say  the  famous  sister-painters,  Harriet  Thayer 
and  Lyle  Durgin,  of  Boston ;  and  it  is  much  such  a  feeling 
as  this  that  you  must  have,  to  make  yourself  a  profes- 
sional artist,  you  cannot  say  "  to-morrow  morning  at 
nine  o'clock  I  shall  begin  to  make  an  artist  of  myself." 
The  process  began  long  ago,  if  you  have  the  real  art  stuff 
in  you. 

Here  would  come  the  old  question  again  of  nature  or 
circumstance,  if  we  should  open  the  door  for  it.  Per- 
haps you  will  not  mind  my  introducing  two  boy  artists 
to  you ;  and  whether  they  were  artists  by  nature  or  by 
circumstance  you  shall  determine  for  yourself.  When 
I  was  living  in  Paris  a  few  years  ago,  Silburn,  the  Eng- 
lish artist,  lived  just  across  the  street  from  me,  and  his 
two  boys  became  great  friends  of  mine  —  perhaps  be- 
cause 1  could  speak  a  little  English,  for  English-speak- 
ing people  were  rare  in  that  part  of  the  city.  They  were 
both  artists,  the  boys,  though  neither  of  them  had  yet 
taken  any  lessons.  Even  their  sports  were  artistic. 
One  of  their  evening  amusements  was  taking  a  sheet  of 
paper  and  asking  some  one  to  make  four  or  five  black 


268  HELPS   FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

dots  on  it,  in  whatever  positions  he  chose.  Then  one  of 
them  took  the  paper  and  drew  upon  it  a  picture  in  which 
those  dots  must  be  principal  points.  You  will  find,  if 
you  try  it,  that  it  requires  a  great  deal  of  ingenuity,  and 
gives  a  great  many  surprises.  When  you  are  looking 
for  a  man  on  horseback  you  get  a  cathedral  —  always 
something  unexpected,  because  the  artist's  ideas  are 
different  from  yours.  We  went  out  one  day  to  St.  Cloud, 
and  while  we  were  enjoying  the  shade  of  the  grand  old 
oaks  there,  one  of  the  boys  picked  up  a  large  acorn  and 
borrowed  my  knife.  In  ten  minutes  he  had  converted 
the  acorn  into  a  tiny  head,  topped  with  a  broad-brimmed 
hat  tilted  well  back,  the  face  smiling  and  looking  almost 
ready  to  speak. 

Whether  these  boys  were  natural-born  artists,  being 
the  sons  of  an  artist,  or  whether  the  talent  came  to  them 
from  the  artistic  atmosphere  they  breathed,  makes  no 
difference.  They  had  the  divine  afflatus,  and  you  must 
have  at  least  some  of  it  if  you  would  be  a  real  artist. 
If  you  have  even  a  spark  of  it,  it  is  almost  certain  to 
have  shown  itself  before  this.  A  little  of  it  goes  a  great 
way,  and  will  not  be  put  down.  But  even  this  natural 
aptitude,  if  we  must  call  it  so,  will  not  make  you  a  great 
artist  if  you  have  it.  Without  it  you  cannot  be  an 
artist  at  all,  and  with  it  you  may  be  one  if  you  treat  it 
well.  That  is  talent,  and  you  want  genius  ;  and  "  genius 
is  talent  well  worked,"  as  Henry  Ward  Beecher  once 
told  me. 

If  you  have  this  aptitude  for  art  in  any  of  its  forms 
it  is  only  fair  to  yourself  that  you  should  look  closely 
into  your  own  circumstances  and  surroundings,  and  de- 
termine whether  it  will  be  wise  for  you  to  develop  it, 
whether  there  is  anything  better  in  store  for  you. 
Better  than  art !  you  exclaim  ?  Yes,  under  some  cir- 
cumstances  there  are  better  things  than  art.     A  live 


ART  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD.  269 

donkey  is  better  than  a  dead  lion,  we  are  told,  and  be- 
lieve, and  to  a  hungry  man  a  chop  and  a  roll  are  better 
than  fame.  Art  for  art's  sake  is  very  grand,  but  art  for 
your  own  sake  is  the  question  before  you.  Many  girls  are 
so  situated,  with  better  opportunities  in  other  directions, 
that  their  wisest  course  is  to  shut  up  the  artistic  talent  in 
a  bandbox.  For  many  others,  it  is  the  course  of  wisdom 
to  go  on  and  develop  it.  Your  own  circumstances,  and 
the  size  of  your  talent,  must  be  your  guides  in  deciding  it. 
There  are  the  most  tremendous  possibilities  in  art  — 
so  great  that  if  you  are  not  far  enough  advanced  to  see 
them  for  yourself  I  cannot  hope  to  make  them  clear  to 
you.  The  top  story  of  the  House  of  Art  is  vacant,  and 
if  you  can  get  up  there  you  can  have  the  whole  floor  to 
yourself.  But  I  will  tell  you  candidly  that  I  have  not 
the  faintest  idea  of  your  ever  reaching  that  etage,  as  you 
may  learn  to  say  in  Paris.  Why  not  ?  Chiefly  because 
I  have  seen  so  many  others  try  the  stairs  and  fail.  Sup- 
pose we  take  a  homely  illustration.  Here  is  a  writer, 
of  some  sort,  with  a  box  of  excellent  pens,  just  as  good 
pens  as  Thackeray  had,  and  plenty  of  paper,  and  as 
much  knowledge  of  the  world  and  of  literature  as 
Thackeray  had,  perhaps,  and  what  are  the  inducements 
in  front  of  him  ?  These  :  He  knows  that  if  he  writes 
two  novels  of  such  calibre  as  "  Henry  Esmond "  and 
"  The  Virginians,"  with  the  first  he  will  make  much  fame 
and  little  money,  and  that  with  the  manuscript  of  the 
second  he  can  then  walk  into  the  office  of  any  good 
publisher,  and  exchange  it  for  their  check  for  one 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  with  all  the  royalties  yet 
to  come.  Then  why  does  he  not  do  it?  Why  does 
not  some  better  man  do  it  ?  The  way  is  open.  It  has 
been  open  for  a  long  time.  Likewise  the  way  in  art 
is  open,  and  has  been  open  for  a  still  longer  time. 


270  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

"  Why  don't  they  make  statues  like  these  nowadays  ?  " 
an  American  lady  once  asked  me  in  the  great  museum  in 
Naples,  when  we  had  recovered  our  breath  after  the  first 
look.  "  Because  they  cannot  "  is  the  only  answer  possi- 
ble. When  you  can  produce  a  statue  like  one  of  the  best 
of  these,  your  fame  and  fortune  are  made.  Or  a  horse 
like  the  great  bronze  horse  there,  taken  from  Hercula- 
neum.  I  say  like  "  one  of  the  best  of  those,"  because 
they  are  not  all  equally  startling.  It  is  a  consolation, 
perhaps,  to  know  that  even  among  the  ancients  there 
were  poor  artists  as  well  as  good.  Herculaneum  and 
Pompeii  were  only  five  or  six  miles  apart,  on  the  same 
road,  but  they  were  a  thousand  miles  apart  in  their  dec- 
orations. Herculaneum  was  full  of  art  treasures ;  Pom- 
peii, notwithstanding  the  evident  wealth  of  its  inhab- 
itants, was  full  of  art  trash.  The  greatest  works  of  art 
in  the  latter  city  are  the  coils  of  lead  water-pipes,  put  up 
nearly  two  thousand  years  ago,  precisely  as  our  plumbers 
put  them  up  to-day.  It  was  only  a  comparative  few  of 
the  ancient  artists  who  climbed  up  to  the  top  story  of 
the  Art  House. 

There  is  more  to  be  learned  from  the  old  masters  than 
their  methods  and  style.  You  cannot  go  over  and  study 
Rubens  in  Antwerp  without  concluding  that  the  greatest 
genius  needs  the  backing  of  great  industry.  When  you 
go  into  the  big  cathedral,  then  into  church  after  church, 
then  into  the  art  galleries,  and  see  nothing  but  Rubens, 
Rubens,  Rubens,  relieved  occasionally  by  Van  Dyck,  his 
pupil,  you  are  ready  to  believe  that  he  must  have  done  at 
least  one  great  painting  a  day  throughout  his  whole 
working  life.  But  when  a  little  later  you  go  into  the 
wonderful  Plantin  printing-office,  which  is  itself  a  work 
of  art,  you  see  that  besides  all  his  paintings  he  made 
hundreds,  yes,  thousands,  of  drawings  for  the  Plantin 
firm,  of  which  both  he  and  Van  Dyck  were  employes. 


ART  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD.  271 

Do  not  believe  that  people  admire  the  works  of  the 
old  masters  because  it  is  the  fashion  to  admire  them. 
They  admire  them  because  they  cannot  help  admiring 
them.  Not  to  appreciate  them  is  on  a  par  with  seeing 
nothing  unusual  in  Shakespeare  —  it  is  a  big  black  and 
white  sign  announcing  dense  ignorance.  This  is  a  won- 
derful age,  but  there  were  some  very  passable  things  in 
the  world  even  before  we  were  born.  If  it  will  not 
shock  your  artistic  sensibilities,  I  will  tell  you  that 
there  is  not  in  the  whole  world  at  this  moment  a  printing- 
office  to  compare  with  the  great  establishment  operated 
by  the  Plantins  in  Antwerp  three  centuries  ago.  A 
thousand  publishers  may  point  with  pride  to  their  own 
great  plants,  but  they  must  all  bow  to  the  Plantins. 
Making  their  own  types,  making  their  own  inks,  doing 
such  binding  as  you  may  see  in  dreams,  illustrating  their 
works  with  etchings  by  Eubens  and  Van  Dyck,  and  other 
masters,  with  lofty  galleries  filled  with  priceless  works 
of  art,  with  machinery  that  would  seem  crude  from  any 
description,  but  that  was  not  crude,  but  did  work  equal 
to  the  very  best  now  done  anywhere.  Art  will  teach 
you,  if  anything  can,  that  the  world  was  not  made  in  the 
year  1900. 

There  are  other  niches  vacant  besides  those  that  have 
long  been  empty  in  the  top  row.  An  author  may  have 
many  a  good  beefsteak  without  being  a  Thackeray,  and 
you  may  have  tomato  sauce  with  your  chops  without  be- 
ing a  Rubens.  If  you  can  in  time  do  as  good  work  as 
Mr.  Blank  or  Mr.  Dash,  of  the  National  Academy,  the 
guild  of  artists  will  open  its  arms  to  you,  and  fortune 
will  smile  upon  you.  It  is  well  worth  the  trying. 
Whether  in  sculpture,  or  in  painting,  or  in  illustrating, 
superior  merit  is  sure,  almost  sure,  to  earn  superior  re- 
ward, if  it  has  superior  industry  for  a  partner.  Rubens 
would  never  have  become  "the  King  of  Antwerp,"  as 


272  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Thackeray  calls  him,  if  he  had  given  more  time  to  relax- 
ation than  to  work. 

Without  attempting  to  take  up  separately  each  branch 
of  the  artist's  work  (for  what  is  said  of  one  branch 
applies  more  or  less  to  all),  I  wish  before  taking  you 
abroad  to  suggest  that  you  give  some  attention  to  the 
subject  of  illustrating.  It  may  be  worth  your  while. 
Do  not  imagine  the  illustrator  to  be  a  decrepit  artist  who 
has  failed  in  other  departments  of  work.  He  or  she  is 
often  as  much  of  an  artist  in  that  line  as  the  old  masters 
were  in  theirs.  Take  up  some  of  the  illustrated  news- 
papers and  magazines,  and  study  their  pictures.  You 
may  have  a  special  aptitude  for  that  kind  of  work. 
Then  take  a  daily  newspaper  and  study  the  cartoons ; 
not  once  merely,  but  day  after  day  for  a  week,  a  month. 
You  will  soon  see  that  the  cartoonist  has  a  field  of  his 
own ;  he  is  an  illustrator,  and  more  than  an  illustrator. 
He  must  have  a  great  knowledge  of  public  affairs,  and 
of  public  men,  and  the  ability  to  use  his  knowledge  and 
talent  in  a  humorous  way,  to  present  the  humorous  idea 
of  his  own  originating.  Take  the  daily  cartoons  of 
Mr.  Charles  Nelan  in  the  "  New  York  Herald,"  for 
example,  and  study  them,  and  you  will  learn  much  from 
them,  and  derive  much  amusement  from  them.  Here  is 
a  good  cartoon  to-day,  let  us  say,  and  you  admit  that  it 
is  good,,  but  assert  that  a  hundred  artists  in  New  York 
might  have  done  as  well.  True  enough ;  a  hundred 
artists  might  have  hit  upon  an  equally  good  idea,  and 
have  drawn  an  equally  good  picture.  But  this  same 
man  made  just  as  good  a  cartoon  yesterday,  and  the  day 
before,  and  the  day  before  that,  and  every  day  for  years. 
And  he  will  do  it  again  to-morrow,  and  the  next  day, 
and  any  and  all  days.  He  has  demonstrated  that  he  has 
not  only  the  artistic  ability  but  the  information  and  the 
wit  also  to  produce  a  good  cartoon  every  day  in  the 


ART  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD.  273 

year;  and  such  a  talent  is  a  gold  mine.  There  are 
thousands  of  one-cartoon  artists  ;  but  if  you  know  of  a 
good  every-day-in-the-year  cartoonist,  the  leading  news- 
paper proprietors  would  be  glad  to  meet  him  —  or  her, 
for  cartoons  know  no  sex.  It  is  worth  your  while  to 
learn,  by  trying,  whether  you  have  such  a  valuable  talent 
as  that. 

You  are  far  off  yet,  perhaps,  from  the  point  of  going 
abroad  to  complete  your  studies,  but  before  you  go 
abroad  you  should  know  what  student  life  means  in 
one  of  the  European  capitals.  The  mode  of  life 
differs,  of  course,  in  the  various  countries,  but  every- 
where it  is  cheaper  than  in  this  country,  if  you  manage 
properly.  Even  in  Paris  you  may  live  very  cheaply. 
But  when  I  speak  of  your  going  abroad  to  study  it  is 
with  the  distinct  understanding  that  you  are  accom- 
panied by  your  mother  or  some  other  married  woman. 
Young  girls  do  go  to  Europe  alone,  but  never  when  they 
have  wise  parents  ;  and  if  you  are  guilty  of  such  an  im- 
propriety you  shall  have  no  chance  to  lay  any  share  of 
the  blame  upon  my  shoulders.  No  large  city  is  a  safe 
place  for  a  young  girl  alone  ;  and  in  looking  forward  to 
your  probable  early  experiences  in  Paris  we  will  con- 
sider,- if  you  please,  not  yourself  alone,  but  you  and 
mother. 

We  will  suppose  that  you  know  nothing  of  French  and 
nothing  of  Paris,  and  that  the  train  from  Calais  has 
landed  you  in  the  St.  Lazare  station,  which  you  will  soon 
learn  to  call  the  "  Gare  San  Lazare,"  as  the  French  do, 
gave  (pronounced  gar)  being  the  French  for  railway 
station.  Unless  it  is  very  early  in  the  day  you  will  go 
to  the  nearest  large  hotel  for  the  night,  where  you  will 
pay  from  five  to  ten  francs  for  your  room,  eating  your 
meals  either  in  the  hotel  restaurant  or  outside,  as  you 
prefer.     When  the  convenient  hour  arrives,  presumably 


274  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

the  morning  after  your  arrival,  a  cab  will  carry  you  both 
(for  one  franc)  to  the  Rue  Scribe,  near  the  Grand  Opera 
House,  where  you  will  find  a  large  number  of  "  house 
agents"  with  flats  to  let.  You  can  speak  English  to 
your  heart's  content  in  the  offices  of  the  agents,  because 
a  large  proportion  of  their  customers  are  English-speak- 
ing people.  When  you  tell  the  agent  what  kind  of  a  flat 
you  desire,  and  the  highest  price  you  are  willing  to  pay 
(naming  the  Latin  quarter  for  the  neighborhood,  very 
likely,  as  that  is  cheap),  he  will  make  out  a  list  of  eight 
or  ten  flats  that  might  suit,  and  send  an  English-speaking 
clerk  with  you  to  show  them  to  you,  for  which  he  makes 
no  charge.  Now  you  have  a  guide  for  the  moment,  and 
if  you  must  be  very  economical  he  will  take  you  to  the 
Latin  quarter  in  the  tram  cars  or  'busses.  It  is  much 
more  comfortable,  however,  to  take  a  carriage  for  the 
morning  or  afternoon,  at  an  expense  of  three  francs  (sixty 
cents)  an  hour.  Everything  is  reckoned  by  the  franc, 
which  is  about  twenty  cents,  so  that  you  have  only  to 
divide  the  amount  by  five  to  reach  the  approximate  num- 
ber of  dollars.  The  currency  is  very  simple  and  easy. 
The  centime,  five  to  a  cent;  the  sou  (which  is  old- 
fashioned,  but  still  in  use),  one  cent ;  the  half  franc,  ten 
cents  ;  the  franc,  twenty  cents. 

You  will  find  inspecting  flats  as  hard  work  as  ever  you 
did  in  your  life,  with  from  three  to  six  flights  of  stairs 
to  climb  each  time.  But  the  flats,  even  the  smallest  and 
cheapest  of  them,  make  the  very  perfection  of  light 
housekeeping.  You  can  have  one  large  enough  for  the 
purpose,  completely  furnished,  for  twelve  dollars  a  month, 
or  fifteen  dollars,  or  twenty  dollars,  or  on  up  just  as  high 
as  you  choose. 

I  see  you  at  last  in  one  that  suits,  at  say  seventy-five 
francs,  fifteen  dollars  a  month.  Eor  that  price  you 
have  a  tiny  parlor,  either  one  or  two  tiny  sleeping-rooms, 


ART  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD.  275 

and  the  tiniest  of  kitchens,  in  which  you  find  a  gas  stove, 
a  cold-water  tap,  a  stone  sink,  a  small  stock  of  cooking 
utensils,  and  everything  very  convenient.  The  furni- 
ture is  a  little  shabby,  but  the  owner  will  value  it  highly 
when  you  move,  and  make  you  pay  well  for  a  nick  in  a 
saucer  or  a  spot  on  the  wall  paper.  And  not  only  for 
your  own  nicks  and  spots,  but  for  the  nicks  and  spots 
and  breaks  of  all  previous  tenants.  To  guard  against 
this  imposition,  your  house  agent,  represented  by  the 
clerk  who  is  with  you,  makes  a  complete  inventory  of 
everything  in  the  rooms,  carefully  noting  every  imper- 
fection, such  as  a  torn  or  worn  carpet,  a  cracked  platter, 
or  a  broken  chair.  This  paper  is  signed  by  both  landlord 
and  tenant,  and  the  agent  charges  you  twenty  francs, 
about  four  dollars,  for  drawing  it  up.  Do  not  try  to 
save  this  four  dollars,  or  you  will  have  much  more  to  pay 
in  the  end.  You  must  pay  one  month's  rent  in  advance, 
and  be  sure  to  take  a  receipt  for  it.  The  Parisians  of 
the  small  landlord  class  are  very  greedy,  and  will  rob 
you  of  your  last  cent  if  you  give  them  a  chance ;  but 
never  by  actual  stealing  —  the  goods  in  your  rooms  are 
perfectly  safe,  provided  you  keep  the  doors  locked. 

There  are  many  surprises  in  store  for  you  in  this  un- 
accustomed life.  You  may  look  around  all  the  neighbor- 
ing corners  for  the  "  revelry  "  of  the  Latin  quarter,  and 
find  nothing  more  shocking  than  a  butcher-boy  with  his 
tray.  When  there  is  revelry  it  is  late  at  night,  and  in 
resorts  that  you  will  not  be  likely  to  frequent.  You  will 
find  the  people  at  work,  young  and  old,  and  all  very 
civil,  and  ready  to  take  the  odd  half-cent  in  every  bar- 
gain. And  the  facilities  for  this  small  kind  of  house- 
keeping will  surprise  you.  Shops  are  everywhere,  where 
you  may  buy  anything  you  like,  in  the  smallest  quantities, 
—  a  penny's  worth  of  cream,  or  half  a  chicken,  or  two 
little  links  of  sausage,  just  enough  for  breakfast.     But 


276  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

you  will  soon  forget  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  break- 
fast, for  it  is  more  convenient  to  fall  into  the  habits  of 
the  natives.  Instead  of  breakfast  you  will  have  your 
cup  of  coffee  and  a  roll  at  seven  or  eight  in  the  morning, 
your  dejeuner  a  la  fourchette  (meaning  "  breakfast  with 
a  fork,"  but  generally  called  simply  "  dejeuner ")  about 
midday,  and  your  dinner  at  six  o'clock  or  later.  You 
can  live  just  as  cheaply  as  you  like,  down  to  ten  dollars 
a  week  for  all  living  expenses  for  the  two  of  you,  or  pos- 
sibly even  less.  The  Frenchmen  can  teach  you  many 
ways  to  swell  a  franc  into  a  dollar  in  household  matters. 
Indeed,  I  could  tell  you  myself  how  to  make  the  most 
delicious  soups  without  a  particle  of  meat ;  but  you  must 
wait  till  I  write  my  cook-book. 

All  this,  you  will  be  inclined  to  say,  has  nothing  to  do 
with  your  studying  art ;  but  it  has  a  great  deal  to  do 
with  it,  for  art  does  not  flourish  on  an  empty  stomach. 
When  you  are  ready  for  the  real  work  you  have  come 
for,  —  that  is,  when  you  have  established  a  comfortable 
home,  —  go  straight  to  the  American  consulate,  at  No. 
36  bis,  Avenue  de  l'Opera,  which  is  very  near  your 
house  agent's  in  the  Rue  Scribe.  "  Bis "  means  that 
there  are  two  houses  numbered  36,  one  of  which  is  plain 
36  and  the  other  36  bis.  The  consulate  is  open  from 
ten  o'clock  in  the  morning  till  three  in  the  afternoon, 
and  there  you  will  get  a  clew  leading  to  just  the  kind  of 
instruction  you  seek.  In  long  residences  in  various  parts 
of  France  I  never  found  a  passport  necessary  upon  any 
occasion. 

Knowing  your  desire  to  hear  of  your  probable  fate  in 
Paris,  I  have  taken  a  step  in  advance  of  the  subject; 
for  you  need  not  go  abroad  till  there  is  no  more  for  you 
to  learn  at  home.  The  question  of  this  moment  is,  How 
are  you  to  begin  ?  Go  to  the  Cooper  Union  Free  Art 
School  for  Women,  if  that  is  convenient,  and  your  start 


ART  AT  HOME  AND   ABROAD.  277 

in  study  is  made.  Or  go  to  the  Night  Art  School  of  the 
Cooper  Union,  if  you  must  earn  money  through  the  day. 
Or  go  to  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts  of  the  Pratt  In- 
stitute, in  Brooklyn.  If  these  are  not  convenient  you 
will  find  schools  of  about  the  same  grade  in  various 
parts  of  the  country.  In  any  one  of  these  you  begin  to 
have  artistic  surroundings,  and  your  teachers  will  advise 
you  about  the  next  step.  When  you  are  able  to  go 
higher,  write  to  the  National  Academy  of  Design, 
Fourth  Avenue  and  Twenty-Third  Street,  New  York 
City.  They  will  send  you  a  circular  containing  their 
rules,  and  the  conditions  of  admission.  Their  schools 
are  open  from  the  first  Monday  in  October  till  the  middle 
of  May,  every  year.  Following  are  the  schedules  of  the 
Cooper  Union  day  and  night  free  Art  Schools,  and  the 
course  and  terms  in  the  Pratt  Institute,  Department  of 
Fine  Arts : 

COOPER   UNION   FREE   ART   SCHOOL   FOR   WOMEN. 

The  term  commences  the  first  of  October  and  ends  about  the 
middle  of  May.  The  hours  of  study  are  from  9  A.M.  to  1  P.M., 
every  day  except  Saturday.  Applicants  must  be  at  least  sixteen 
years  of  age  and  not  over  thirty-five.  Application  for  admission 
may  be  made  at  any  time  during  the  year. 

The  following  subjects  are  taught : 

Elementary  Cast  Drawing,  Pen  and  Ink  Illustration, 

Drawing  from  the  Antique,  Color  and  Crayon  from  the  Pho- 
Life  Drawing,  tograph, 

Oil  Painting,  Retouching  of  Positives, 

Designing,  Miniature  Painting. 

COOPER  UNION  FREE  NIGHT  SCHOOL  OF  ART. 

Tbe  term  begins  the  first  week  in  October  and  ends  about  the 
middle  of  April.  The  classes  are  in  session  every  evening,  except 
Saturday,  from  7.30  to  9.30.  Applicants  must  be  at  least  fifteen 
years  of  age.     Application  for  admission  must  be  made  between 


278  HELPS   FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

June  15  and  December  31.  The  instruction  in  this  department 
is  exclusively  for  men,  with  the  exception  of  the  classes  in  Archi- 
tectural Drawing  and  Perspective  Drawing,  to  which  women  are 
also  admitted. 

The  following  subjects  are  taught : 

Rudimental  Drawing  —  For  beginners  in  free-hand  drawing 
from  simple  models. 

Form  Drawing,  or  free-hand  drawing  from  bas-reliefs,  repre- 
senting architectural  and  plastic  ornaments  of  different  historic 
periods. 

Cast  Drawing,  or  drawing  from  the  antique. 

PRATT   INSTITUTE. 

DEPARTMENT    OF    FINE    ARTS. 

The  object  of  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts  is  to  provide  thorough 
and  systematic  instruction  in  the  fine  and  decorative  arts.  The 
■various  divisions  are  as  follows  : 

•  Antique  ;  freehand   perspective ;    sketch- 
Regular  Art  Course  /      ing ;    color ;    anatomy ;    life  ;    portrait ; 
(,      composition  ;  history  of  art. 
Freehand  and  instrumental  drawing;  an- 
tique ;    portrait ;    color ;    design ;     clay- 
modelling  ;     sketching ;       composition ; 
history    of   art;  psychology    and   peda- 
gogy. 

~  f  Ornament ;  antique  ;  design  in  the  round ; 

Clay-modelling      .     <  '         H      '         & 

C      modelling  from  life ;  history  of  art. 

(  Freehand  drawing ;  ornament ;  color ;  his- 
Design  s      tory   of   art;    composition;    decorative 

C     and  applied  design ;  technical  methods. 
Freehand      and     instrumental      drawing; 
color ;  history  of  art ;  theory  and  prac- 
Architecture     .     .      /     tice    of   architecture ;   architectural  de- 
sign ;         mathematics ;        construction ; 
strength  of   materials. 
(  Freehand  and  instrumental  drawing ;  de- 
Wood-carving   .     .      s      sign ;    history  of   art;    clay-modelling; 
v.     wood-carving. 


Normal  Art  Course 


ART  AT   HOME  AND   ABROAD.  279 


Art  Exhibitions 


Paintings;  drawings;  photographs;  tex- 
tiles ;  decorative  arts.  "Exhibitions  in 
the  Fine  Arts  Gallery  from  October  to 
June. 


The  courses  of  study  are  arranged  to  meet  the  requirements  of 
three  classes  of  pupils  :  those  who  give  to  the  work  five  whole  days 
each  week ;  those  who  give  five  half-days ;  and  those  who  give 
three  evenings. 

GENERAL    INFORMATION.* 

Art  Education.  —  Recognizing  the  fact  that  the  study  of  art 
should  be  broad  and  comprehensive,  that  creative  ability  in  every 
individual  should  be  encouraged  and  developed,  and  that  students 
should  have  opportunity  to  secure  the  greatest  possible  return  for 
time  spent  in  study,  the  department  gives  much  attention  to  that 
form  of  general  art-education  which  not  only  develops  skill  in 
drawing,  but  also  acquaints  students  with  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples in  composition  and  design ;  with  proportion,  balance,  rhythm, 
and  beauty  of  form,  line,  and  color ;  and  with  the  best  that  has 
been  done  in  the  various  phases  of  art  in  the  world's  history.  To 
this  end,  much  is  done  to  educate  the  mind  to  an  appreciation  of 
the  beautiful,  to  stimulate  the  artistic  and  inventive  faculty  in  the 
production  of  original  work,  and  to  train  the  eye  and  hand  thor- 
oughly in  the  free  expression  of  ideas. 

Original  work  in  composition  is  carried  on  throughout  the 
courses.  The  principles  underlying  beauty  are  studied  singly  and 
progressively,  from  the  simplest  combination  of  straight  and  curved 
lines  in  decoration  and  in  architectural  design  to  landscape  effects 
in  line,  light  and  dark,  and  color,  and  to  compositions  which  in- 
clude the  human  figure.  The  production  of  original  work  within 
the  limits  of  each  successive  step  is  accompanied  by  a  careful 
study  of  the  best  examples  of  the  same  principle  found  in  the  wide 
range  of  historic  art,  that  students  may  learn  to  appreciate  the 
best  in  architecture,  sculpture,  painting,  and  decoration. 

The  work  of  the  various  classes  of  the  department  deals  pre- 
eminently with  the  principles  which  underlie  all  art;  hence  the 
training  is  of  great  value  in  any  special  branch  of  art  study  which 
the  student  may  pursue.  The  stimulus  to  individual  expression 
brings  out  the  natural  inclination  of  the  student,  and  leads  to  fit- 
ness in  the  choice  of  work. 


280  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Equipment.  —  The  department  occupies  the  entire  fourth  and 
fifth  floors  of'the  main  Institute  building,  comprising,  in  addition 
to  the  Art  Gallery  of  the  Institute,  twenty-four  studios,  class- 
rooms, and  offices.  The  studios  are  supplied  with  large  collections 
of  casts,  photographs,  ceramics,  textiles,  designs,  and  charts  for 
class  use.  In  the  Institute  Library  are  many  valuable  art  books 
and  plates,  and  all  the  best  current  art  publications.  The  Art 
Keference  room  contains  fifteen  thousand  photographs  of  impor- 
tant works  in  architecture,  sculpture,  painting,  and  decoration. 

Easels,  modelling-clay,  and  wood-carving  tools  are  provided  by 
the  Institute.  Paper,  drawing-materials,  drawing-boards,  instru- 
ments, and  wood  for  carving  must  be  furnished  by  the  students. 
These  materials  may  be  obtained  at  the  General  Office. 

Art  Exhibitions.  —  The  Art  Gallery  of  the  Institute  is  a  room  25 
feet  X  45  feet  in  size,  admirably  lighted.  Exhibitions  of  paint- 
ings, drawings,  photographs,  and  of  the  decorative  arts  are  held 
during  the  school  year. 

Lectures. — Department  lectures  are  given  on  perspective,  de- 
sign, color,  composition,  and  artistic  anatomy.  A  special  course 
of  twenty-six  illustrated  lectures  on. the  history  of  architecture, 
sculpture,  painting,  and  ornament,  given  by  the  Director  of  the 
Department,  is  open  to  all  students  of  the  Institute  and  to  the 
public.  These  lectures  begin  in  October,  and  occur  on  Wednes- 
day afternoons  from  4  to  5  o'clock. 

SYLLABUS    OF    LECTURES    ON    HISTORY    OF    ART. 

1,  2,  3,  and  4.      Egyptian  Architecture,  Sculpture,  and  Decora- 
tion. 

5.  Babylonian,  Assyrian,  and  Persian  Art. 

6,  7,  and  8.  Greek  Architecture,  Sculpture,  and  Decoration. 
9,  10,  and  11.       Roman   Architecture,   Sculpture,  and   Decora- 
tion. 

12  and  13.  Early  Christian,  Byzantine,    and    Romanesque 

Art. 

14.  Saracenic  Art.     The  Art  of  the  Mohammedans. 

15  and  16.  Gothic  Architecture  and  Decoration. 

17  and  18.  Renaissance  Architecture  and  Sculpture. 

19,  20,  and  21.  Italian  Painting. 

22  and  23.  Flemish,  German,  and  Dutch  Painting. 

24  and  25.  French  Painting. 

26.  Spanish  Painting.     English  Painting. 


ART  AT  HOME  AND   ABROAD.  281 

Bay  Classes.  —  The  full-day  classes  are  for  those  who  wish  to 
take  a  regular  course  of  two  years  or  more  in  any  branch  of  work 
included  in  the  department. 

Students  do  not  pursue  the  same  subjects  morning  and  after- 
noon. The  work  of  the  afternoon  supplements  in  drawing,  color, 
sketching,  composition,  and  lectures  the  work  of  the  morning 
session.  Students  of  all-day  classes  attend  five  mornings  and 
three  or  five  afternoons. 

Evening  Classes.  —  These  meet  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Fri- 
day of  each  week  from  September  to  April.  The  session  is  from 
7.30  to  9.30  o'clock. 

Classes  in  general  freehand  drawing,  composition,  cast-drawing, 
life-drawing,  architectual  drawing,  decorative  and  applied  design, 
clay-modelling,  and  wood-carving  pursue  lines  of  work  similar  to 
those  of  the  day  classes,  but  necessarily  abridged. 

For  more  specific  statements  regarding  the  various  courses  of 
study  for  evening  classes  send  for  special  circular. 

Children's  Classes. — The  time  from  9.30  to  12  o'clock  on  Sat- 
urday morning  is  devoted  to  children's  classes.  Instruction  is 
given  in  drawing  from  casts  in  outline  and  light  and  shade,  free- 
hand perspective,  sketching,  and  color. 

Admission  to  Classes.  —  Applicants  for  elementary  courses  in 
freehand  drawing  must  present  such  drawings  and  letters  as  will 
give  evidence  of  ability  to  undertake  the  work.  Applicants  for 
advanced  drawing-classes  must  present  such  drawings  as  will 
justify  admission  to  those  classes.  Applicants  for  the  Normal 
Art  Course  and  the  Course  in  Architecture  or  in  Design  must  take 
the  special  examination  explained  in  the  descriptive  text  of  the 
Course.  No  examinations  are  required  of  applicants  for  evening 
work. 

Biplomas  and  Certificates.  —  Diplomas  and  certificates  are 
granted.  The  work  of  the  classes  is  under  the  control  of  the  depart- 
ment until  after  the  annual  exhibition ;  one  or  more  specimens 
may  then  be  selected  from  the  work  of  each  student  and  retained 
for  the  use  of  the  school. 

Hours  of  Attendance. — All  regular  courses  of  study  begin  in 
September,  punctually  at  the  time  announced  for  the  various 
■classes.  The  sessions  are  from  9  A.M.  to  12  M.,  and  from  1.30 
to  4.30  P.M.,  on  five  days  of  the  week.     Evening  classes  meet  for 


282  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS  GIBLS. 

instruction  Monday,  Wednesday,  and  Friday,  from  7.30  to  9.30 
o'clock.  Promptness  and  regularity  of  attendance  are  required  in 
all  classes. 

REGULAR   ART    COURSE    IN    DRAWING,    PAINTING,    AND    COMPOSITION. 
FIVE   DATS  BACH  WEEK  —  FOUR  YEARS. 

Exceptional  opportunities  are  afforded  students  to  draw  from  the 
antique,  and  the  head  and  figure  from  life ;  to  work  in  color ;  and 
to  study  anatomy,  sketching,  composition,  and  the  history  of  art. 
The  instruction  is  so  planned  that  students  may  acquire,  with  the 
technique  of  drawing  and  painting,  a  broad  and  general  education 
in  those  elements  necessary  for  a  complete  understanding  of  art, 
and  for  individual  and  aesthetic  culture.  It  is  arranged  for  all-day 
sessions  in  order  to  accommodate  students  who  desire  an  extended 
and  thorough  course  of  study.  Those  who  can  give  but  five  half- 
days  a  week  may  join  morning  or  afternoon  classes,  according  to 
their  choice  of  subjects. 

The  work  of  the  first  year  consists  of  light-and-shade  drawing 
from  the  antique ;  freehand  perspective;  sketching;  elementary 
composition ;  and  lectures  upon  the  history  of  art. 

Opportunity  is 'given  in  the  afternoon  for  additional  work  in  cast- 
drawing,  sketching,  and  drawing  from  still-life,  or  in  clay-model- 
ling as  an  aid  in  the  study  of  form.  Members  of  all-day  classes 
who  reach  a  required  standard  in  drawing  are  allowed  during  the 
second  half  of  the  school  year  to  devote  the  afternoons  to  work  in 
color. 

Light-and-shade  drawing  in  charcoal,  sketching,  composition, 
and  the  study  of  anatomy  are  continued  throughout  the  second 
year.  As  soon  as  students  can  present  satisfactory  drawings  from 
the  antique,  they  are  allowed  to  enter  the  life-classes,  drawing  from 
the  head  or  figure.  All  have  the  opportunity,  in  the  afternoon,  of 
continuing  the  work  in  still-life,  using  oil  in  place  of  the  charcoal 
and  water-color  of  the  first  year. 

The  course  for  the  third  and  fourth  years  is  a  further  devel- 
opment of  the  second.  Students  drawing  from  the  figure  in  the 
morning  session  work  in  color  in  the  portrait-class  in  the  after- 
noon ;  and  those  in  the  morning  portrait-class  draw  from  the  figure 
from  life  in  the  afternoon.  Lectures  are  given  upon  the  anatomy 
of  the  human  figure  and  its  relation  to  art.  The  skeleton,  ana-* 
tomical  figure,  and  living  model  are  used  in  illustration. 


ART  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD.  283 

The  study  of  composition  is  a  very  important  feature  of  the 
entire  course.  Subjects  are  assigned  and  composition  drawings 
are  required  every  week.  Attendance  upon  the  lectures  on  the 
history  of  art  is  obligatory. 

NORMAL   ART    COURSE. 
FIVE   DAYS  EACH  WEEK— TWO  TEARS. 

The  Normal  Art  Course  of  two  years  aims  to  qualify  students 
to  fill  positions  as  teachers  and  supervisors  of  art  education  in  pub- 
lic, high,  and  Normal  schools. 

Of  all  applicants  for  this  class  a  preliminary  home  examination 
in  drawing  is  required,  which  may  be  taken  the  first  of  May,  June, 
August,  or  September.  The  papers  are  issued  only  to  those  who 
have  fully  decided  to  take  the  examination,  and  they  must  be  re- 
turned immediately  to  the  Institute.  Such  work  is  required  as 
shows  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  freehand 
perspective,  good  technical  ability  in  drawing  from  ornament  and 
from  common  objects,  and  simple  rendering  in  light  and  shade. 
With  these  papers  letters  or  testimonials  must  also  be  presented. 
If  the  examinations  and  letters  prove  satisfactory,  the  applicant 
will  be  accepted  as  a  member  of  the  department ;  but  in  addition, 
on  the  first  day  of  the  term,  or  the  date  announced,  all  applicants 
must  take  at  the  Institute  an  examination  in  Plane  Geometry  with 
special  reference  to  instrumental  drawing ;  also  an  examination  in 
General  History,  English  Literature,  Current  Events,  and  the 
proper  use  of  English.  If  students  fail  in  any  of  these  Institute 
examinations,  they  must  fulfil,  during  the  year,  such  requirements 
and  conditions  as  may  be  imposed.  Applicants  are  admitted  only 
in  September.  While  the  same  general  course  is  pursued  by  all 
during  the  first  year  and  the  morning  sessions  of  the  second  year, 
opportunity  is  given  for  as  much  extra  work  as  time  and  ability 
permit.  The  work  of  the  afternoon  sessions  of  the  second  year  is 
elective,  students  taking  one  of  four  special  courses  :  (a)  Drawing 
from  the  head,  or  figure,  from  life ;  (b)  Painting  from  still-life, 
oil-color ;  (c)  Composition  and  design ;  (d)  Wood-carving,  and,  in 
connection  with  the  Department  of  Science  and  Technology,  ele- 
mentary manual  training  for  public  schools. 

COURSE  OF  STUDY. 
Light-and-shade  Drawing.  —  Drawing  in  charcoal   from  orna- 
ment, the  antique,  still-life,  and  portrait. 


284  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS  GIBLS. 

Clay-modelling.  —  Drawing  is  supplemented  by  an  extended 
course  in  clay-modelling  from  ornament,  from  the  antique,  and 
from  life. 

Freehand  Perspective  and  Sketching.  —  Lectures  are  given  on 
freehand  perspective,  and  many  drawings  and  sketches  artistically 
rendered  are  required  to  illustrate  the  principles  of  cylindric, 
rectangular,  and  oblique  perspective. 

Design  and  Composition.  — Two  afternoons  each  week  are 
devoted  to  the  study  of  design  and  composition.  Training  is  given 
in  the  principles  and  practice  of  composition  and  design  as  applied 
in  line,  light  and  dark,  and  color.  Among  the  subjects  chosen  for 
the  study  of  these  principles  are  straight  and  curved  line  designs, 
landscape  compositions,  surface  patterns,  borders,  tiles,  and  book- 
covers. 

Water-color.  — Instruction  is  given  and  practice  required  in 
water-color  two  half-days  each  week  throughout  the  second  year. 
There  is  also  opportunity  for  those  students  who  meet  an  approved 
standard  to  take  special  work  in  water-color  two  afternoons  of  the 
week  during  the  latter  half  of  the  first  year. 

History  of  Art.  —  Illustrated  lectures  on  the  History  of  Art 
occur  weekly  throughout  the  year.  They  relate  to  the  subjects  of 
Architecture,  Sculpture,  Painting,  and  Ornament. 

Instrumental  Drawing.  —  To  meet  the  needs  of  the  supervisor 
of  drawing  a  course  in  instrumental  drawing  is  given  which  oc- 
cupies one  day  a  week  the  first  year.  This  subject  covers  the 
principles  of  common  working-drawings,  both  architectural  and 
mechanical,  instrumental  perspective,  and  the  projection  of 
shadows. 

Psychology,  History  of  Education,  and  Normal  Training.  — 
Instruction  is  given  in  psychology  the  first  year,  and  in  history  of 
education  the  second  year.  Special  work  in  Normal  training, 
teaching-exercises,  and  class-conferences  occupies  part  of  one  day 
in  the  week,  through  the  entire  course. 

DESIGN. 
FIVE   DATS  EACH  WEEK  —  TWO  TEARS. 

Correctness  in  drawing,  originality  in  composition,  and  skill  in 
the  use  of  color  are  essential  in  decorative  design.  The  course 
offers,  therefore,  thorough  training  in  the  study  of  form,  color, 
history  of  art,  historic  styles  of  ornament,  principles  of  design  and 


ART  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD.  285 

composition,  properties  of  material,  and  technical  methods  in 
applied  design.  It  gives  an  all-round  art  education,  and  insures  a 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  principles  that  govern  design, 
and  of  the  application  of  these  principles  to  wall-paper,  prints, 
carpets,  tapestries,  metal,  carvings,  stained  glass,  and  interior 
decoration. 

The  course  requires  an  attendance  at  both  morning  and  after- 
noon sessions,  the  mornings  being  given  to  design  and  the  after- 
noons to  design  and  to  freehand  drawing  and  water-color. 

For  admission  to  this  course,  an  examinatiqn  must  be  passed  in 
simple  freehand  drawing  from  decorative  forms. 

COURSE   OF  STUDY. 

Freehand  Drawing.  —  Practice  is  given  in  drawing  from  orna- 
ment to  develop  free  expression  and  a  knowledge  of  growth,  tan- 
gential union,  radiation,  symmetry,  and  balance.  This  practice  is 
continued  by  charcoal  drawing  from  casts  in  outline,  and  later  in 
light  and  shade,  that  students  may  appreciate  values  and  represent 
them  simply  in  applied  decorative  design.  The  study  of  cast- 
drawing  may  extend  throughout  the  course,  and  there  is  oppor- 
tunity for  drawing  from  the  antique  and  from  life. 

Designs  for  household  decoration  require  a  clear  understanding 
and  a  free  rendering  of  perspective  principles.  The  course,  there- 
fore, provides  instruction  in  freehand  perspective  and  sketching ; 
these  subjects  being  studied  in  such  a  way  as  to  enable  students 
to  render  in  an  artistic  manner  the  perspective  appearance  of  com- 
mon objects,  furniture,  and  house  interiors. 

Water-color.  —  Light-and-shade  drawing  and  freehand  sketching 
lead  to  water-color  painting.  The  student  works  from  compositions 
of  objects  illustrating  good  form  and  color,  represents  color-effects 
and  values  in  a  simple,  artistic  manner,  and  applies  this  knowledge 
in  designs  for  interior  decoration. 

Historic  Ornament.  —  Illustrated  lectures  are  given  on  the  his- 
tory and  development  of  art.  The  historic  styles  are  analyzed 
from  the  Egyptian  and  Greek  down  to  the  late  French  and  English, 
and  the  typical  features  of  the  various  styles  are  applied  by  stu- 
dents in  original  design. 

Principles  of  Design  and  Composition.  —  Plan,  order,  repetition, 
radiation,  symmetry,  balance,  proportion,  and  other  principles, 
are  carefully  taught  in  both  simple  and  complex  designs.     The 


286  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

essential  qualities  of  design,  simplicity,  strength,  stability,  truth, 
and  beauty,  and  the  treatment  of  motives  in  a  manner  literal,  con- 
ventional, or  symbolic,  are  studied  and  illustrated. 

Applied  Design.  —  Throughout  the  course  much  practice  is 
given  in  applied  design,  including  general  ornament,  surface  pat- 
terns, borders,  designs  for  tiles,  book-covers,  prints,  wall-paper, 
carpets,  metal,  stained  glass,  and  interior  decoration.  When  stu- 
dents have  become  proficient  in  drawing  and  in  general  designing 
they  may  elect  one  or  more  of  these  subjects  for  professional 
work. 

ARCHITECTURE. 
FIVE  DATS  EACH  WEEK — TWO  TEARS. 

The  course  in  architecture,  occupying  both  morning  and  after- 
noon sessions,  aims  to  qualify  students  as  architectural  draughts- 
men. It  comprises  architectural  draughting  and  rendering,  free- 
hand drawing,  sketching,  water-color,  mathematics,  the  history 
of  architecture,  and  architectural  design. 

The  training  of  students  is  accomplished  by  lectures  and  reci- 
tations, investigation  and  study  in  the  Library,  drawing  and  design, 
and  practical  application  of  the  principles  of  building-construction 
in  the  Department  of  Science  and  Technology. 

Applicants  must  be  at  least  sixteen  years  of  age.  They  must 
pass  an  examination  in  freehand  drawing  from  ornament,  simple 
casts,  and  common  objects ;  in  arithmetic,  including  fractions,  per- 
centage, proportion,  square  root,  and  mensuration ;  and  in  English 
grammar  and  composition.  Each  candidate  must  present  a  letter 
testifying  to  general  ability  and  moral  character. 

Entrance  examinations  are  held  June  10  and  September  21,  at 
9.30  A.M. 

A  graduate  course  of  one  year  or  more  in  architectural  design, 
clay-modelling,  and  water-color  is  open  to  those  who  successfully 
complete  the  two-years'  course. 

COURSE  OF  STUDY. 

Instrumental  Drawing. — The  work  in  instrumental  drawing 
includes  problems  in  descriptive  geometry,  intersection  of  solids, 
and  surface  developments ;  plans,  elevations,  framing-plans,  scale 
drawings  of  the  various  details  that  enter  into  ordinary  frame, 
brick,  and  stone  construction  ;  and  problems  illustrating  principles 
of  perspective  and  cast  shadows. 


ART  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD.  287 

Freehand  Drawing.  —  Much  attention  is  given  to  freehand  work 
which  includes  drawing  of  ornament  from  cast,  freehand  perspec- 
tive, light-and-shade  drawing,  pen-and-pencil  sketching,  and  water- 
color. 

Construction.  —  This  subject  is  covered  by  a  series  of  lectures 
upon  the  materials  and  processes  employed  in  ordinary  building- 
operations.  They  are  supplemented  by  problems  from  given  data 
and  by  work  in  the  Department  of  Science  and  Technology,  includ- 
ing practice  in  joinery,  framing,  and  details  of  house-construction, 
and  by  work  in  the  testing-laboratories. 

Elements  of  Architecture  and  Architectural  Design.  —  Lectures 
and  exercises  upon  the  forms  and  proportions  of  the  Greek  and 
Roman  orders,  balustrades,  doors  and  windows,  vaults  and  domes, 
are  followed  by  competitive  problems  in  architectural  design. 
The  drawings  are  rendered  in  line,  light  and  shade,  or  color. 

History. — The  study  of  the  history  of  architecture  is  pursued 
by  means  of  lectures,  and  by  reports  from  the  students  upon 
assigned  topics.  The  reports  are  illustrated  by  drawings  and 
sketches. 

Mathematics.  —  All  students  are  required  to  take  a  course  in 
Algebra,  Plane  and  Solid  Geometry,  Strength  of  Materials,  and 
Graphical  Statics. 

Theory  and  Practice.  —  The  purpose  of  the  lectures  introduced 
under  this  head  is  to  point  out  the  relation  of  theory  to  practice. 
The  subjects  include  the  position  of  architecture  among  the  arts ; 
sanitation ;  and  methods  of  office-work. 

CLAY-MODELLING. 

The  wide  extent  to  which  clay-modelling  may  be  directly  used  in 
the  fine  and  applied  arts  renders  it  a  special  feature  of  the  work  of 
the  Department,  not  only  in  connection  with  sculpture,  but  also 
as  an  aid  in  the  various  courses  in  drawing. 

The  work  of  the  classes  in  clay-modelling  is  carried  on  in  several 
divisions  :  The  first  provides  training  for  those  who  wish  to  study 
sculpture  as  a  profession,  and  every  opportunity  is  furnished  to 
students  for  serious  and  thorough  work  from  the  antique  and  from 
life.  The  second  is  intended  to  supplement  freehand  drawing 
from  the  antique  and  from  life.  The  third  is  for  students  of  the 
Normal  Art  class  who  model  from  casts  of  ornament,  from  the 
antique,  and  from  life.  The  fourth  is  planned  to  meet  the  require- 
ments of  pupils  in   the  architectural   and  wood-carving   classes. 


288  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Students  model  from  casts,  photographs,  and  plants,  and  study  the 
principles  of  decorative  design  as  applied  to  work  in  stone,  wood, 
and  metal. 

WOOD-CARVING. 
riVB  DAYS  BACH  WEEK— TWO   YEARS. 

This  course  aims  to  give  students  a  general  training  in  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  art,  while  practical  application  of  these  prin- 
ciples is  made  in  the  special  work  of  wood-carving. 

The  course  includes  preliminary  exercises  for  care  and  use  of 
tools,  horizontal  and  vertical  decoration,  plane  and  curved  sur- 
face carving,  incised  model-carving,  low  relief,  high  relief,  letters 
and  inscriptions,  cabinet-work  in  historic  styles,  and  sculptured 
ornament.  A  course  in  light  carpentry  or  cabinet-work  may  be 
taken  in  the  Department  of  Science  and  Technology. 

Provision  is  also  made  for  instruction  in  drawing,  design,  clay- 
modelling,  and  historic  ornament. 

TUITION    FEES,    DEPARTMENT    OF    FINE    ARTS,    PRATT    INSTITUTE. 

Normal  Art  Course,  admitting  to  day  and  evening  classes, 

per  term $25  00 

Full-day  classes. 

All    classes   in  department,    including  life  classes,  ten 

sessions  per  week 15  00 

Half-day  classes. 

All  classes   in  department,   excepting  life  classes,  five 

sessions  per  week 10  00 

Life  classes,  five  sessions  per  week 12  00 

Evening  classes. 

All  classes  in  department,  three  evenings  per  week    .        5  00 
Saturday  morning  class  for  children 2  00 


Art  is  long,  life  short;  judgment  difficult,  opportunity  transient. 

Goethe. 


WITH  BRUSH  AND   CHISEL.  289 


CHAPTER    XX. 

WITH    BRUSH    AND    CHISEL. 

The  artist  belongs  to  his  work,  not 'the  work  to  the 
artist.  —  Novalis. 

A  tolerable  artist,  with  the  help  of  a  little  poverty, 
may  become  a  good  one.  —  Poussin. 

The  life  of  an  artist  is  one  of  thought,  rather  than  of 
action ;  he  has  to  speak  of  the  struggles  of  mind  rather 
than  the  conflict  of  circumstances.  —  W.  Hone. 

The  great  artists  were  not  rocked  and  dandled  into 
eminence,  but  they  attained  to  it  by  that  course  of  labor 
and  discipline  which  no  man  need  go  to  Rome  to  enter 
upon.  —  G.  S.  Hillard. 

In  every  line  of  life  in  which  success  is  aimed  at,  an 
apprenticeship  has  to  be  served,  of  many  hours  and  days 
of  hard  work.  Art  is  not  exempt  from  this  law,  and 
however  small  may  be  the  talent  one  possesses,  it  can  be 
increased  tenfold  by  cultivation.  —  Louise  Topling. 

A  professional  very  often  has  made  his  start  in  life 
with  a  lack  of  money,  and  an  amateur  has  been  burdened 
with  too  much.  In  that,  it  seems  to  me,  lies  the  chief 
difference  between  them.  —  Louise  Topling. 

In  learning  the  art  of  drawing  when  you  are  beyond 
the  pale  of  childhood  you  bring  to  your  task  a  judgment 


290  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

far  more  matured.  Your  mind  has  more  strength  to 
command  the  eye  and  hand  to  do  their  part,  and  your 
will  to  succeed  is  greater.  —  Louise  Tolling. 

Art  requires  as  much  hard  work  and  learning  as  any 
other  profession.  Even  if  not  continued  in  later  life,  I 
consider  that  drawing  and  painting  ought  to  form  a  part 
of  every  child's  education,  just  as  much  as  reading,  writ- 
ing, and  arithmetic.  No  special  gift  is  requisite.  All 
the  better  if  one  possesses  it,  but  it  is  not  necessary.  — 
Louisa  Topling. 

Education  alone  can  make  the  artist ;  and  by  education 
I  mean  the  complete  acquisition  of  those  intellectual 
powers  on  which  imagination  feeds,  the  full  development 
of  those  moral  qualities  which  afford  a  key  to  feeling 
and  passion,  and  such  an  experience  of  social  laws  as 
may  result  in  an  apprehension  of  the  needs  of  man  in 
the  power  of  giving  them  expression.  —  Ernest  Chesneau. 

A  great  artist  is  an  impossibility  without  a  general 
education,  and  a  man  who  has  no  artistic  culture,  how- 
ever superior  he  may  be  in  other  respects,  lacks  an  in- 
strument which  is  indispensable  to  his  complete  use  of 
life.  — Ernest  Chesneau. 

One  benefit,  in  particular,  our  artists  would  derive 
from  general  learning :  they  would  escape  the  error  of 
those  living  artists  who  fail  to  understand  that  art  is 
concerned  with  every  phase  of  existence;  that  it  can 
never  be  living  and  original  unless  it  gives  expression,  in 
its  own  way,  to  contemporary  civilization  with  its  ideas, 
its  progress,  its  most  recent  acquisitions,  physical  and 
moral,  its  scientific  discoveries,  and  interpretations  — 
every  day  more  satisfactory  —  of  the  great  facts  of 
history  and  of  religion.  —  Ernest  Chesneau. 


WITH  BRUSH  AND   CHISEL.  291 

It  cannot  be  too  greatly  regretted  that  the  artists  of 
the  present  day  seem  to  be  shut  up,  walled  up,  in  a 
special  and  very  narrow  round  of  conceptions  and  opin- 
ions. They  devote  themselves  wholly  to  the  practice  of 
their  craft,  and  never  seem  to  think  of  anything  beyond 
the  technique  of  their  respective  arts.  —  Ernest  Ches- 
neau. 

Many  an  artist  who  fails  miserably  when  he  tries  to 
execute  a  great  work  of  painting  or  sculpture  is  born 
with  a  real  genius  for  ornament,  and  will  rise  to  distinc- 
tion in  decorative  art.  —  Ernest  Chesneau. 

The  brain,  the  complete  organism  of  a  child,  is  like 
the  keyboard  of  a  stringed  instrument  which  has  all  the 
chords  of  the  musical  scale,  but  slack  and  jarring. 
Among  civilized  nations  the  only  aim  of  education  is  to 
give  the  tuner's  turn  of  the  key  to  all  these  strings 
equally,  to  tune  them  to  a  proper  pitch,  so  that  they  may 
vibrate,  and  vibrate  truly,  at  the  touch  of  life,  the  thrill 
of  innumerable  emotions  which  the  sight  of  the  universe 
has  in  store.  The  smallest  outcome  of  this  slow  process 
must  be  to  open  the  youthful  soul  to  an  infinite  variety 
of  wholesome  influences,  to  give  it  tension,  equilibrium, 
and  harmony.  If  it  is  gifted  with  genius  it  has  then  an 
instrument  ready  to  hand,  by  means  of  which  it  can  give 
a  final  and  complete  utterance  to  its  loftiest  emotions. 
Failing  genius,  we  shall  have  a  man  of  taste,  a  public  for 
art.  —  Ernest  Chesneau. 

When  art  has  its  fair  share  in  education,  in  every 
class,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  from  the  university 
to  the  lowest  elementary  school,  we  shall  have  given  the 
artist  of  the  future  the  means  of  knowing  his  own 
capabilities  ;  he  can  then,  in  due  time,  discover  and 
reveal  his  vocation.  —  Ernest  Chesneau. 


292  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

The  public  is  a  great  baby,  which  craves  amusement 
and  excitement.  It  is  easily  pleased  with  what  is  given 
it ;  but  show  it  something  better,  and  it  understands  and 
makes  comparisons  at  once.  —  George  Sand. 

At  no  period  and  under  no  school  have  there  been 
sculptors  of  more  accomplished  skill  and  knowledge  than 
there  are  in  France  at  the  present  time.  They  are  far 
beyond  their  brethren,  the  painters,  in  serious  and 
conscientious  mastery  of  their  craft.  Never,  on  the 
other  hand,  has  the  output  of  any  school  been  more 
inept,  more  uninteresting,  more  utterly  devoid  of  charm 
and  vitality.  —  Ernest  Chesneau. 

All  the  art  crafts  have  suffered  from  manufacture. 
The  individual  is  lost  sight  of  in  the  "firm,"  just  as 
though  art  could  be  produced  by  a  Co.  !  The  men  who 
do  the  work  are  "  hands,"  and  the  designers  "  cartoon- 
ists," who  have  just  sufficient  knowledge  to  draw  con- 
ventional figures  of  saints  after  well-recognized  patterns. 
It  not  infrequently  happens  that  the  "  firm "  [of  glass 
decorators]  does  not  have  a  fresh  cartoon  made  for  each 
window  executed,  but  a  head  is  taken,  say,  from  St. 
Mark  and  put  on  the  body  of  St  Luke ;  and  by  "  fakes  " 
of  this  nature  a  new  design  is  the  result,  thereby  saving 
money  to  the  firm,  an  ever-important  consideration.  — 
Fred  Miller. 

Here,  work  enough  to  watch 
The  master  work,  and  catch 
Hints  of  the  proper  craft,  tricks  of  the  tool's  true  play. 

—  Rabbi  Ben  Ezra. 

If  those  who  spend  money  in  churches  would  try  to 
be  as  artistic  as  they  are  pious,  and  see  that  their  money 


WITH  BRUSH  AND   CHISEL.  293 

is  spent  to  some  worthy  end  in  securing  original  work  by 
capable  craftsmen,  how  much  gain  would  accrue !  Our 
churches  might  then  be  living  temples  instead  of  crystal- 
lizations of  the  past  or  receptacles  of  "  furniture"  art. — 
Fred  Miller. 

It  is  from  his  female  ancestry,  I  imagine,  that  the 
artist  derives  sensibility,  grace,  and  elegance ;  his  witch- 
ery, wit,  and  conceits ;  his  flights  towards  the  realm  of 
the  unreal ;  all  those  feminine  touches  which  lend  peren- 
nial enchantment  to  a  work  of  art.  It  may  be  taken  for 
granted,  as  a  general  rule,  that  among  the  immediate 
progenitors  of  every  true  artist  there  has  been  a  woman 
—  his  mother,  or  his  grandmother  perhaps  — especially 
gifted  with  sense,  soul,  and  intellect  —  a  true  woman.  — 
Ernest  Chesneau. 

Sculpture  is  an  art  of  strength,  of  hard  labor,  and  not 
attractive  to  natures  steeped  in  the  modern  womanly 
element.  They  betake  themselves  rather  to  poetry, 
music,  or  painting.  A  sculptor  must  always  be  more  or 
less  a  hewer  of  stone ;  he  must  have  strong  muscles,  stal- 
wart shoulders,  brawny  hands ;  he  is  a  man,  and  a  son  of 
a  man.  Genius,  derived  from  whence  none  can  tell, 
sometimes  supplies  the  place  of  the  feminine  element 
that  is  absent.  But  genius  is  rare,  otherwise  it  would 
not  be  genius.  This  is  why  we  find  so  much  talent  and 
so  little  art  in  the  works  of  contemporary  sculptors. — 
Ernest  Chesneau. 

Sculpture  finds  little  response  in  the  needs  of  the  in- 
dividuals that  make  up  modern  society.  Sordid  as  it  may 
seem,  the  question  of  u  Keeping  the  pot  boiling"  is  of  as 
paramount  importance  in  the  life  of  an  artist  as  in  that 
of  a  "  Philistine."     It  is  always  the  rule  that  sculptors, 


294  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

with  very  rare  exceptions,  depend  on  commissions  from 
the  government  or  from  corporations,  and  not  from  pri- 
vate purchasers. — Ernest  Chesneau. 

It  is  a  great  mortification  to  the  vanity  of  man  that 
his  utmost  art  and  industry  can  never  equal  the  meanest 
of  nature's  productions,  either  for  beauty  or  value.  Art 
is  only  the  under-workman,  and  is  employed  to  give  a  few- 
strokes  of  embellishment  to  those  pieces  which  come 
from  the  hand  of  the  Master ;  some  of  which  may  be  of 
his  drawing,  but  he  is  not  allowed  to  touch  the  principal 
figure.  Art  may  make  a  man  a  suit  of  clothes,  but  nature 
must  produce  a  man.  —  Hume.  » 

I  have  seen  —  all  the  world  may  see  —  that  sculpture 
as  an  art  is  a  dead  language.  I  have  lived  ;  and  nowhere 
in  the  possession  of  any  amateur,  in  no  drawing-room  or 
gallery,  have  I  seen  a  single  work  by  one  of  your  pedantic 
scholars.  By  all  means  let  the  School  of  Fine  Art  and 
your  professors  teach  you  your  business  ;  you  cannot  do 
better.  But  do  not  bring  us  your  class-books  to  look  at; 
keep  them,  if  you  please,  or  throw  them  away.  They 
do  not  interest  us.  —  Ernest  Chesneau. 

I  believe  that  the  ages  which  are  to  follow  this  will 
surpass  our  possibilities  of  art.  The  art  of  to-day  should 
embody  the  highest  life  of  to-day  for  the  use  of  to-day  ; 
for  those  who  have  gone  before  us  need  it  not,  and  those 
who  will  come  after  us  will  have  something  better. — 
J.  G.  Holland. 


LOUISA   M.   ALCOTT. 


LITERATURE.  295 


CHAPTER  XXL 


LITERATURE. 


"  The  author  who  speaks  about  his  own  books  is  almost  as  bad  as  a  mother 
who  talks  about  her  own  children."  —  Disraeli. 

There  are  openings  for  girls  in  the  higher,  lower,  and 
all  the  intermediate  stages  of  literature ;  the  openings 
come  faster  than  the  girls  to  fill  them.  If  you  are  able 
to  fill  one  of  them  there  is  room  for  you.  Of  course  you 
do  not  know  yet  whether  you  are  able  or  not,  but  you 
can  find  out.  You  will  not  find  that  you  can  do  very 
much  at  it  yet  if  you  are  young  enough  to  be  cast- 
ing about  for  an  occupation,  for  authorship  of  almost 
any  kind  requires  more  knowledge  of  the  world  than  it 
is  possible  for  a  young  girl  to  have  acquired.  But  such 
knowledge  comes,  more  or  less,  to  every  one;  and  if  you 
find  that  you  have  even  a  few  sparks  of  the  proper  fire 
you  may  feel  encouraged  to  go  on  trying.  It  is  only 
through  many  trials  and  many  discouragements  that 
you  can  hope  to  do  anything.  The  rewards  are  good 
for  even  moderate  ability,  and  extremely  great  for  ability 
of  a  superior  order. 

Literature  is  not  grasping.  It  does  not  say  to  you, 
like  —  well,  like  art,  for  instance,  "  give  me  all  the  years 
of  your  youth,  all  the  money  you  have  saved  or  can  earn, 
and  all  that  your  parents  can  afford,  and  when  I  have 
it  all  I  will  determine  whether  I  can  do  anything  with 
you  or  not."  Literature  simply  says  to  you,  "  Let  me 
see  what  you  can  do.  No  matter  who  you  are,  or  what 
you  are,  or  what  you  know,  sit  down  and  write  me  some- 


296  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

thing.  Write  about  something  that  you  have  seen,  and 
then  go  and  see  something  else  and  write  about  that. 
Do  not  write  anything  that  you  do  not  know.  You  need 
not  give  me  all  your  time  while  we  are  making  these 
trials,  give  me  only  your  spare  time.  Go  on  with  your 
usual  occupations,  and  if  I  find  that  I  need  your  entire 
time  you  shall  be  well  paid  for  it." 

What  education  do  you  need  for  making  such  trials  ? 
One  would  think  that  the  mechanical  ability  to  write 
was  one  of  the  first  requisites.  That  certainly  is  a  great 
convenience,  but.it  is  not  at  all  necessary.  And  spelling  ? 
I  know  that  in  that  safe  corner  where  you  keep  your 
deepest  secrets,  you  say  to  yourself :  "  I  'm  afraid  I 
should  not  spell  the  words  right."  Then  spell  them 
wrong ;  no  publisher  in  the  world  will  pay  you  ten  cents 
a  ream  for  your  beautiful  handwriting  or  your  well- 
spelled  words.  Words  ?  Why,  all  the  publishers  are 
buried  under  snowstorms  of  words.  Distinguished 
writers  are  hurling  words  at  them  at  the  rate  of  about 
six  thousand  a  day  each,  and  the  market  is  glutted  with 
them.  They  do  not  want  words,  they  or  the  public 
either.  Do  you  know  what  it  is  that  they  want,  both 
publishers  and  public  ?  They  want  ideas  ;  and  ideas 
worth  printing  are  so  scarce  in  the  market  that  there  is 
a  premium  upon  them.  Have  you  any  ideas  ?  Do  not 
begin  to  write  anything  until  you  catch  one ;  and  having 
caught  it,  be  careful  with  it,  and  do  not  risk  its  life  by 
drowning  in  a  sea  of  words.  I  want  to  get  the  fact  into 
your  brain  at  the  beginning,  that  the  writing  and  the 
spelling  and  all  those  mechanical  things  are  only  acces- 
sories, and  that  literature  is  made  of  ideas.  If  you  have 
ideas  you  can  write ;  if  you  have  no  ideas  you  cannot 
write,  unless  it  be  for  some  of  the  magazines  that  exclude 
ideas  entirely. 

This  is  not  saying  that  you  do  not  need  to  be  educated 


LITERATURE.  297 

to  become  a  writer.  You  need  all  the  education  you  can 
get ;  the  education  of  the  schools,  the  education  of  travel, 
the  education  of  experience.  You  cannot  possibly  learn 
too  much ;  the  more  the  better.  If  you  are  working  for  a 
dressmaker  at  a  dollar  a  week  that  is  part  of  your  literary 
education  if  you  keep  your  eyes  open  and  learn  some- 
thing about  the  dressmakers  who  are  associated  with 
you.  One  live  person  is  of  more  value  to  you  in  a 
literary  way  than  one  thousand  inanimate  objects.  It  is 
human  nature  that  people  like  to  read  about ;  the  plots, 
the  adventures,  the  sweet  love  scenes  serve  only  to 
bring  out  the  human  traits  of  the  characters.  If  you 
go  through  Europe  writing  newspaper  letters  about  the 
cathedrals,  the  art  galleries,  the  beautiful  snow-capped 
peaks  of  the  Alps,  nobody  will  read  more  than  ten  lines 
of  you.  Do  you  know  why  ?  Because  there  is  nothing 
about  those  things  to  touch  the  human  heart,  which  is 
the  seat  of  human  interest.  But  go  down  on  the  Cam- 
pagna  and  go  into  some  peasant's  cottage  and  describe 
the  family  and  their  mode  of  life,  the  old  mother  watch- 
ing over  her  sick  girl,  the  boy  eating  his  breakfast  of 
chestnuts,  the  father  tilling  his  little  garden,  and  if  you 
do  it  skilfully  you  will  touch  the  heart  and  the  pocket. 

If  you  do  it  skilfully,  remember ;  and  it  is  not  through 
your  genius  that  you  will  do  it  skilfully,  but  through 
your  practice  at  doing  it.  What  made  Shakespeare  and 
Cervantes  and  Thackeray  great  ?  First  their  knowledge 
of  human  nature,  then  their  ability  to  tell  what  they 
knew.  The  knowledge  alone  would  not  have  distin- 
guished them.  Probably  many  people  now  living  know 
as  much  about  life  and  human  nature  as  Shakespeare  or 
Cervantes  or  Thackeray  knew  ;  but  they  have  not  equal 
ability  to  put  their  knowledge  skilfully  upon  paper,  and 
without  that  ability  their  knowledge  goes  for  naught. 

If  you  can  give  people  some  good  honest  laughs  you 


298  HELPS  FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

can  write.  There  is  wonderful  power  in  humor,  because 
honest  laughter  does  not  come  from  the  pit  of  the 
stomach,  but  from  the  heart.  There  is  always  some 
human  nature  in  it.  Mark  Twain's  famous  story  of 
"The  Jumping  Frog  of  Calaveras"  set  everybody  a- 
laughing,  and  it  looked  very  much  like  a  story  about  a  frog. 
But  it  was  a  story  about  a  frog  and  a  man ;  and  it  was 
in  the  man,  not  in  the  frog,  that  the  interest  lay.  If 
you  find  that  you  have  a  humorous  vein  you  should  cul- 
tivate it.  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  lecturing  before  a  hostile 
audience  in  the  Richmond  Theatre,  was  received  with  a 
storm  of  hisses.  When  they  let  him  begin  he  told  a  funny 
story,  and  set  them  all  to  laughing.  "  That  settled  it,"  said 
he.  "  The  minute  I  could  make  them  laugh,  I  had  them. 
I  knew  that  for  the  rest  of  that  evening  they  should  laugh 
or  cry,  just  as  I  bade  them."  When  you  can  make  your 
audience  laugh  or  cry  at  will,  you  "  have  it." 

Your  present  education  is  sufficient  to  begin  with. 
You  will  not  go  far  in  literature,  either  in  enjoying  it  or 
in  making  it,  without  increasing  your  stock  of  knowledge. 
You  will  soon  begin  to  look  up  a  subject  in  one  direc- 
tion, and  another  subject  in  another  direction,  and  that  is 
education.  All  the  schools  and  colleges  on  earth  cannot 
give  you  a  good  literary  style,  nor  facility  of  expression. 
Those  things  you  must  dig  out  for  yourself,  no  matter 
how  many  Greek  verbs  you  can  conjugate.  Collegiate 
training  or  any  other  good  training  helps  toward  it,  but 
facility  and  style  are  things  to  be  earned,  not  to  be  bought. 
And  there  must  be  at  least  the  germ  of  something  within 
you  that  cannot  be  earned  in  ten  lifetimes,  but  that  can 
be  highly  developed  when  the  germ  is  present. 

Almost  every  point  that  I  have  suggested  here  is 
illustrated  in  any  one  of  a  thousand  pieces  of  good  liter- 
ature. Take  Tennyson's  "  Break,  break,  break,"  for  ex- 
ample.    I  need  not  copy  it,  for  it   is   in  nearly   every 


LITERATURE.  299 

household.  There  are  sixteen  lines,  and  if  you  can  write 
sixteen  lines  of  equal  calibre,  you  can  sell  them  to-mor- 
row morning  for  one  hundred  dollars.  But  even  grant- 
ing you  the  poetic  instinct,  the  divine  afflatus,  it  is  utterly 
impossible  that  you  or  any  other  young  girl  could  write 
such  a  thing.  And  it  required  no  schooling  to  speak  of ; 
you  have  schooling  enough  for  it.  "  The  touch  of  a  van- 
ished hand,  the  sound  of  a  voice  that,  is  still,"  is  the 
thought  of  a  man  who  has  known  sorrow,  who  has  stood 
by  open  graves,  whose  own  hand  is  chilled  by  the  want 
of  that  touch,  from  whose  heart  tears  flow  because  the 
loved  voice  is  still.  That  little  poejn  is  ten  pages  long. 
You  read  the  sixteen  lines  in  print  and  then  think  the 
other  nine  and  a  half  pages  for  yourself ;  and  that  is  high 
art  in  composition  ;  so  high  that  only  the  best  writers 
ever  reach  it.  But  his  knowledge  of  life,  and  joy,  and 
sorrow,  and  beauty,  and  all  his  happiness  of  expression, 
would  not  alone  have  enabled  Tennyson  to  produce  such 
a  gem.  The  Creator  had  put  the  little  seed  of  poetry  in 
his  heart,  and  he  had  fostered  and  developed  it.  You 
cannot  "  learn  "  poetic  ideas  ;  but  if  you  have  them  you 
can  learn  to  clothe  them  in  rich  garments. 

Good  ideas  in  literature  are  not  necessarily  poetic; 
the  main  thing  is  to  give  your  attention  to  ideas  rather 
than  to  words,  and  to  human  beings  rather  than  to  in- 
animate things.  There  is  no  great  interest  in  a  burning 
steamboat ;  the  interest  is  in  the  people  who  were  on 
board  the  steamboat.  And  when  you  begin  to  write  — 
merely  for  experiment,  I  mean,  to  see  whether  you  can 
write  or  not  —  write  about  people,  making  the  human 
interest  always  override  every  other  interest.  That  ex- 
pression, I  think,  belongs  to  Sir  Walter  Besant,  but  I  am 
sure  he  will  lend  it  to  me  for  your  benefit.  When  you 
have  learned  to  write  a  plain  statement  of  fact  in  good, 
plain  English  write  a  little  story  in  which  the  characters 


300  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

are  the  members  of  your  family.  You  know  them 
all,  so  you  will  be  able  to  write  about  them.  Every  one 
of  them  has  some  little  personal  trait  that  you  can  bring 
out.  You  will  find  that  the  more  true  to  fact  and  to 
nature  your  characters  are  the  better  your  story  will  be. 
If  it  turns  out  well  you  may  read  it  to  the  family  if  you 
choose,  but  do  not  let  it  go  out  of  the  house.  Then  tear 
it  up  and  write  about  something  else,  but  be  sure  you 
know  what  you  are  writing  about.  You  must  see  a  char- 
acter with  your  mind's  eye  if  not  with  your  body's  be- 
fore you  can  describe  it.  This  must  be  for  practice,  not 
for  the  public.  Never,  at  least  until  you  have  some 
experience,  send  anything  to  a  publisher  until  you  have 
had  it  laid  away  long  enough  to  forget  all  about  it  — 
say  for  six  months.  After  such  an  interval  you  can  read 
it  in  cold  blood,  as  though  it  had  been  written  by  some 
one  else,  and  can  form  a  more  correct  opinion  of  it.  You 
will  be  surprised  to  find  how  differently  you  will  regard 
it.  After  six  months  it  is  not  at  all  the  same  story  that 
it  seemed  to  be  while  the  ink  was  still  wet. 

If  you  are  continually  drawing  upon  your  brain  you 
must  put  something  in ;  and  this  you  do  by  reading.  You 
cannot  read  too  much,  if  your  reading  is  of  the  right 
kind  —  the  best  fiction,  the  best  poetry,  the  best  history 
and  philosophy  and  travel.  That  is  a  large  part  of  your 
literary  education.  Thousands  of  women  have  made  for- 
tune and  fame  with  the  pen,  and  possibly  you  can  do  as 
well  as  they.  At  any  rate,  you  will  risk  nothing  by  try- 
ing, if  you  take  pains  to  keep  out  of  print  until  you  are 
sure  about  it. 

"  We  cultivate  literature  on  a  little  oatmeal." — Sydney  Smith. 
[Mr.  Smith  proposed  this  for  the  motto  of  the  "  Edinburgh  Review." 
"But  it  was,"  he  afterwards  explained,  "too  near  the  truth  to  be 
admitted ;  so  we  took  our  present  grave  motto  from  Publius  Syrus, 
of  whom  none  of  us  had,  I  am  sure,  read  a  single  line."] 


THE   WORLD   OF  LETTERS.  301 


CHAPTEK  XXII. 

THE    WORLD     OF    LETTERS. 

Literature  is  the  tongue  of  the  world.  —  Paine. 

Let  your  literary  compositions  be  kept  from  the  public 
eye  for  nine  years  at  least.  —  Horace. 

The  great  standard  of  literature,  as  to  purity  and 
exactness  of  style,  is  the  Bible.  —  H.  Blair. 

Literature  is  an  avenue  to  glory,  ever  open  for  those 
ingenious  men  who  are  deprived  of  honors  and  of 
wealth.  —  W.  Homberg. 

Literature  as  a  field  for  glory  is  an  arena  where  a 
tomb  may  be  more  easily  found  than  laurels  ;  as  a  means 
of  support  it  is  the  very  chance  of  chances.  —  H.   Giles. 

Literature  is  a  mere  step  to  knowledge ;  and  the  error 
often  lies  in  our  identifying  one  with  the  other.  Litera- 
ture may,  perhaps,  make  us  vain ;  true  knowledge  must 
make  us  humble.  —  Mrs.  John  Sanford. 

The  mass  of  mankind  are  now  so  enlightened  that 
food  for  the  mind  is  as  necessary  to  their  happiness  as 
food  for  the  body  is  conducive  to  their  health ;  hence 
it  is  that  literary  men  require  no  patrons  ;  the  only 
patronage  they  seek  for  is  in  an  enlightened  and  free 
public.  —  Miss  Lucy  Barton. 


302  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Nothing  lives  in  literature  but  that  which  has  in  it  the 
vitality  of  the  creative  art ;  and  it  would  be  safe  advice 
to  the  young  to  read  nothing  but  what  is  old.  —  Whipple. 

Such  a  superiority  do  the  pursuits  of  literature  possess 
above  every  other  occupation  that  even  he  who  attains 
but  a  mediocrity  in  them  merits  the  preeminence  above 
those  that  excel  the  most  in  the  common  and  vulgar 
professions.  —  Hume. 

Experience  enables  me  to  depose  to  the  comfort  and 
blessing  that  literature  can  prove  in  seasons  of  sickness 
and  sorrow;  how  powerfully  intellectual  pursuits  can 
help  in  keeping  the  head  from  crazing  and  the  heart  from 
breaking.  —  Thomas  Hood. 

A  beautiful  literature  springs  irom  the  depth  and  ful- 
ness of  intellectual  and  moral  life,  from  an  energy  of 
thought  and  feeling,  to  which  nothing,  as  we  believe, 
ministers  so  largely  as  enlightened  religion.  —  Channing. 

In  literary  performances,  as  in  Gothic  architecture, 
the  taste  of  the  age  is  largely  in  favor  of  the  pointed 
styles  ;  our  churches  and  our  books  must  bristle  over 
with  points.  —  Bovee. 

There  never  was  a  literary  age  whose  dominant  taste 
was  not  sickly  ;  the  success  of  excellent  authors  consists 
in  making  wholesome  works  agreeable  to  morbid  tastes. 
—  Joubert. 

In  order  to  understand  the  English  language  and 
literature  thoroughly,  we  need  a  certain  familiarity  with 
the  geography  and  history  of  England  and  other  parts 
of  Europe.  —  Arthur  Oilman. 


THE    WORLD  OF  LETTERS.  303 

Thackeray  was  a  sentimentalist  who  concealed  his 
sentiment  under  a  thin  veil  of  satire,  and  he  had  a  strong 
indignation  against  every  form  of  social  meanness,  mani- 
fested in  his  writings  by  a  sustained  use  of  satire,  irony, 
and  caustic  pleasantry  unequalled  in  English  literature.  — 
Arthur  Gilman. 

No  English  writer  since  Shakespeare  has  invented  so 
varied  a  range  of  characters  as  Charles  Dickens.  He 
has  made  charity  fashionable,  and  has  given  much 
enjoyment  to  his  generation.  —  Arthur  Gilman. 

In  one  sense  literature  comprises  all  the  books  ever 
written ;  books  on  philosophy,  science,  text-books  on  all 
subjects,  as  well  as  poetry,  essays,  and  fiction.  But  by 
general  understanding  there  has  come  to  be  a  division  in 
the  world  of  books ;  and  the  department  of  poetry,  fic- 
tion, and  the  elegant  classics  is  separated  from  the  more 
profound  and  scientific  order  of  writings.  This  first 
department  is  sometimes  called  pure  literature,  or  polite 
literature.  The  French  have  a  better  word  than  we; 
they  say  belles  lettres,  from  two  words  meaning  beauti- 
ful literature.  —  Abby  Sage  Richardson. 

Of  all  writers  the  poet  has  done  most  in  all  ages  to 
refine  and  elevate.  The  poet  makes  even  common  things 
seem  rich ;  and  if  he  puts  a  noble  spirit  in  his  verse, 
makes  life  seem  purer  and  higher.  —  Abby  Sage  Rich- 
ardson. 

Therefore,  of  all  sciences  is  the  poet  the  monarch,  for 
he  cometh  unto  you  with  words  set  in  delightful  pro- 
portion, either  accompanied  with  or  prepared  for  the 
enchanting  skill  of  music,  and  with  a  tale,  forsooth, 
he  cometh  unto  vou  with  a  tale  that  holdeth  children 


304  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

from  play  and  old  men  from  the  chimney  corner. 
And  pretending  no  more,  doth  intend  the  winning 
of  the  mind  from  wickedness  to  virtue,  even  as  the 
child  is  brought  to  take  most  wholesome  things  by  hid- 
ing them  in  others  that  have  a  pleasant  taste.  —  Sir 
Philip  Sidney. 

The  love  of  books  is  one  which,  having  taken  posses- 
sion of  a  man,  will  never  leave  him ;  a  book  is  a  friend 
which  never  changes.  —  From  the  French. 

The  want  of  pen,  ink,  and  paper,  or  even  of  written 
characters,  does  not  prevent  a  people  from  having  its 
poetry  or  history.  We  do  not  know  a  tribe  so  barbarous 
that  they  have  not  had  among  them  a  story-teller  or 
minstrel — the  earliest  historian  or  poet  of  a  people.  — 
Abby  Sage  Richardson. 

It  was  a  fortunate  day  for  language  and  for  poetry 
when  Geoffrey  Chaucer  was  born.  He  and  a  group  of 
noble  contemporaries  had  more  power  to  make  the 
English  language  than  all  the  decrees  of  a  long  line  of 
kings.  To  them,  and  to  the  people,  who  heard  them 
gladly,  we  owe  the  great  revival  of  the  original  speech 
of  our  forefathers.  —  Abby  Sage  Richardson. 

In  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  appeared  a  group  of 
writers  who  firmly  established  the  language  in  litera- 
ture. These  men  are  Geoffrey  Chaucer,  John  Wycliffe, 
John  Mandeville,  John  Gower,  and  William  Longland. 
From  the  time  of  these  authors  written  English  took  on 
such  form  that  you  can  read  it  to-day  with  little  diffi- 
culty. Before  their  time  you  would  find  even  Robert  of 
Brunne,  who  said  he  wrote  no  strange  English,  rather 
hard  to  understand.  —  Abby  Sage  Richardson. 


THE   WORLD   OF  LETTERS.  305 

And  grete  well  Chaucer  whan  ye  mete, 
As  my  disciple  and  poete. 

John  Gower. 

Each  picture  drawn  by  Chaucer's  pen  seems  like  a  real 
person  whom  we  see  rather  than  read  about.  The 
modern  novelist,  who  prides  himself  .on  drawing  life- 
like pictures  of  the  men  and  women  of  this  day,  has 
never  succeeded  better  than  the  old  poet,  who  gives  so 
perfect  an  idea  of  a  group  of  every-day  persons  of  the 
fourteenth  century.  —  Abby  Sage  Richardson. 

Chaucer  wrote  many  works,  sometimes  in  prose, 
although  most  commonly  in  verse.  Many  of  his  earlier 
poems  are  little  more  than  translations.  The  "Roman  de 
la  Rose"  which  first  made  him  known  as  poet,  was  a 
translation  from  two  French  writers,  although  we  may 
be  sure  Chaucer  could  not  handle  anything  without  leav- 
ing a  good  deal  of  himself  in  it.  Others  of  his  principal 
poems  are  "  The  House  of  Tame,"  "  The  Book  of  the 
Duchess,"  "  The  Legend  of  Good  Women,"  "  The  Assem- 
bly of  Fowls,"  "Troilus  and  Cressida,"  and  "The 
Canterbury  Tales,"  the  latter  the  only  one  of  his  poems 
which  is  much  read  nowadays.  —  Abby  Sage  Richardson. 

She  was  a  worthy  woman  all  her  live, 

Of  husbands  at  the  church  door  she  had  five. 

"The  Wife  of  Bath."—  Chaucer. 

William  Caxton,  the  first  English  printer,  was  a  young 
man  when  he  went  to  live  in  Belgium  as  apprentice  to  a 
London  merchant.  He  stayed  there  till  past  middle  life, 
and  rose  to  a  respectable  height  in  business.  The  new 
art  of  printing  had  begun  in  Germany,  and  flourished  all 
about  him,  and  when  he  was  able  to  do  so  he  gladly 


306  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

dropped  the  pen  and  took  up  the  quicker  mode  of  type- 
setting. In  1474  he  came  home  to  England  with  a  print- 
ing-press of  his  own,  and  began  business  in  one  of  the 
buildings  belonging  to  Westminster  Abbey.  Here,  under 
the  walls  that  had  sheltered  Chaucer  when  he  finished 
the  "  Canterbury  Tales,"  Caxton  invited  all  who  desired,  to 
come  and  buy  his  books  or  give  orders  for  printing.  — 
Abby  Sage  Richardson. 

One  of  the  most  important  books  to  our  literature  of 
all  the  number  issued  from  Caxton's  press  was  "  The 
Morte  d' Arthur "  —  the  old  stories  of  Arthur  and  his 
Knights,  which  were  translated  by  Sir  Thomas  Malory 
from  the  French.  In  this  book  we  have  again  the  stories 
which  belong  to  the  Arthurian  romance,  woven  into  one. 
—  Abby  Sage  Richardson. 

Then  he  [King  Arthur]  made  the  barget  to  be  holden 
fast,  and  the  King  and  Queen  entered,  with  certain 
knights  that  were  with  them.  And  there  he  saw  the 
fairest  woman  lie  in  a  rich  bed,  covered  to  her  waist 
with  many  rich  clothes,  and  all  was  of  cloth  of  gold,  and 
she  lay  as  though  she  had  smiled.  Then  the  Queen 
espied  a  letter  in  her  right  hand,  and  told  it  to  the  King. 
Then  the  King  took  it,  and  said :  "  Now  I  am  sure  this 
letter  will  tell  what  she  was  and  why  she  is  come  hither." 
And  so  when  the  King  came  within  his  chamber  he  called 
many  knights  about  him,  and  said  he  would  wit  openly 
what  was  written  within  that  letter.  Then  the  King 
brake  the  seal,  and  made  a  clerk  to  read  it.  —  "  Morte 
d'Arthur." 

"Most  Noble  Knight  —  Sir  Launcelot :  Now  has  death 
made  us  two  at  debate  for  your  love ;  I  was  your  love, 
that  men  called  the  fair  Maiden  of  Astolat;  therefore, 


THE   WORLD   OF  LETTERS.  307 

unto  all  ladies  I  make  my  moan ;  yet  pray  for  my  soul, 
and  bury  me  at  the  last,  and  offer  ye  my  mass-penny. 
This  is  my  last  request.  Pray  for  my  soul,  Sir  Launce- 
lot,  as  thou  art  peerless  knight."  —  Elaine's  Letter,  in 
" Morte  d' Arthur." 

Within  the  limits  of  a  little  more  than  half  a  century 
Spenser,  Shakespeare,  Bacon,  and  Milton  were  born. 
And  beside  these  four  names  that  shine  with  such 
immortal  lustre  are  other  names  of  poets,  scholars, 
soldiers,  discoverers,  statesmen,  and  orators,  who  form  a 
group  unequalled  before  or  since,  in  England's  history. 
Queen  Elizabeth  herself  is  a  fitting  central  figure  in  this 
age.  —  Abby  Sage  Richardson. 


308  HELPS   FOB   AMBITIOUS    GIBLS. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

THE    NEWSPAPER  WOMAN. 
The  mildest  manners  with  the  bravest  mind." 


Women  have  made  their  own  field  in  the  newspaper 
world.  If  they  did  not  do  some  parts  of  the  work  better 
than  men  they  would  not  be  employed.  It  is  not  on 
account  of  any  chivalric  notion,  but  because  they  are 
needed  that  they  are  employed.  In  twenty  years  or  less 
they  have  made  themselves  indispensable  in  newspaper 
work,  and  have  made  the  woman  reporter  a  recognized 
institution.  The  work  that  they  are  given  to  do  is  in 
nearly  all  cases  work  that  is  fitted  for  women,  and  in 
many  cases  it  is  work  that  men  could  not  do  equally 
well. 

No  one  can  tell  you  truthfully  that  you  will  make  a 
good  newspaper  woman,  and  on  the  other  hand  no  one 
can  tell  you  truthfully  that  you  will  not.  The  indica- 
tions may  be  strongly  against  you,  and  yet  in  some  par- 
ticular line  you  may  make  a  pronounced  success.  Just 
as  with  men,  it  is  only  by  trial  that  you  can  learn 
whether  you  are  fitted  for  the  business  or  not.  I  can 
tell  you  with  the  most  absolute  certainty,  however,  that 
education  alone  will  not  fit  you  for  newspaper  work.  Of 
course  a  certain  amount  of  education  is  necessary,  but  edu- 
cation alone  is  not  enough.  A  certain  newspaper  instinct 
is  necessary  for  pronounced  success,  which  may  show 
itself  in  you  in  a  few  weeks,  or  may  never  show  itself. 

For  employment  on  a  daily  newspaper  application 
should  be  made  to  the  city  editor,  either  personally  or 


THE  NEWSPAPER    WOMAN.  309 

by  letter ;  and  the  best  special  preparation  that  you  can 
make  for  the  work,  before  making  such  an  application,  is 
to  acquaint  yourself  thoroughly  with  the  city  in  which  you 
desire  to  work.  If  it  is  a  large  city  you  will  find  that 
this  takes  considerable  time,  learning  the  street  and 
steam  car  routes,  the  ferries,  the  suburbs,  the  city  gov- 
ernment and  city  officers,  the  societies,  the  clubs,  and  ten 
thousand  other  things.  Convince  the  city  editor  that 
you  know  the  city  and  your  chances  for  employment  will 
be  far  better  than  if  you  had  those  necessary  things  still 
to  learn. 

One  of  the  most  successful  newspaper  women  of  New 
York,  both  as  reporter  and  as  editor,  has  prepared  for  me 
these  suggestions  that  follow,  for  the  benefit  of  girls 
who  desire  to  become  reporters.  They  are  all  wise  sug- 
gestions ;  with  many  years  of  experience  in  the  news- 
paper business  I  know  their  value,  and  advise  you  to 
study  them  carefully  before  you  take  even  the  first  step. 

"Journalism,  although  it  is  a  profession,  is  governed 
by  the  laws  of  trade,  and  demands  prompt  attendance, 
implicit  obedience  to  orders,  the  faithful  performance  of 
duties,  and  the  sacrifice  of  inclination  and  comfort  to 
duty.  It  has  more  pleasures  than  most  of  the  trades, 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  as  if  to  counterbalance  the  advan- 
tage, it  has  more  cares  and  troubles,  a  greater  strain  and 
pressure.  Nothing  is  more  pleasant  than  to  attend  and 
report  an  exciting  regatta,  or  a  banquet  to  a  statesman, 
a  playwright,  or  a  ruler.  On  the  other  hand,  nothing  is 
more  depressing  than  reporting  the  dangerous  illness  of 
a  great  man  or  writing  a  late  story  in  the  early  morning. 

"  A  woman  reporter  must  be  well  educated,  well  bred, 
well  dressed,  and  well  spoken.  An  impertinent  woman 
is  sure  to  be  unsuccessful.  No  matter  what  the  position, 
high  or  low,  which  a  newspaper  woman  may  have,  she 
must  read  and  study  to  keep  herself  informed  of  current 


310  HELPS  FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

events,  and  often  in  respect  to  matters  upon  which  she 
is  assigned  from  day  to  day. 

"  The  successful  reporters  and  editors  are  always 
readers.  To  them  the  leading  magazines  are  school- 
books,  and  the  great  reviews  are  regular  study  courses. 
It  is  also  well  for  a  girl  to  make  some  specialty  outside 
of  her  general  reading.  In  this  special  education  she 
should  be  guided  by  her  own  tastes.  One  witli  a  soci- 
able disposition  may  cultivate  the  reading-clubs  and 
club  women.  One  with  a  talent  for  French  or  German 
should  read  the  leading  newspapers  in  the  language  she 
knows,  paying  particular  attention  to  items  which  may 
be  of  interest  to  the  readers  of  her  own  paper.  One 
who  has  a  taste  for  college  life  and  the  college  world 
should  keep  informed  about  the  chief  universities  of  the 
country.  Other  special  fields  are  the  wives  and  families 
of  prominent  men,  the  growing  generation  of  writers, 
new  inventors,  progress  and  improvement  in  medicine 
and  surgery,  new  painters,  sculptors,  and  architects, 
keramics,  lacquers,  and  glasses,  zoology  and  botany,  char- 
ities and  philanthropies,  immigration  and  immigrants. 
This  list  might  be  extended  indefinitely,  but  the  fields 
mentioned  will  enable  you  to  carry  out  the  idea. 

"  A  reporter  who  has  mastered  one  or  two  special 
branches  of  interest  or  importance  has  increased  her 
value  to  her  newspaper,  and  is  likely  to  be  called  upon 
at  a  moment's  notice  by  both  the  news  room  and  the  edi- 
torial department.  It  is  these  special  qualifications 
rather  than  any  personal  influence  which  secure  promo- 
tion as  well  as  increased  pay. 

"  Good  manners,  outside  of  their  intrinsic  excellence, 
are  a  paying  investment.  A  well-bred  man  or  woman 
can  always  obtain  more  information  than  an  ill-mannered 
person.  The  best  reporters  in  the  profession  are  marked 
by  diplomacy,  tact,  and  refinement. 


THE  NEWSPAPER    WOMAN.  311 

"  In  respect  to  apparel,  the  advice  of  Polonius  may  be 
followed  with  benefit  by  all  newspaper  women  :  '  Costly 
thy  habit  as  thy  purse  can  buy,  but  not  expressed  in 
fancy  ;  rich,  not  gaudy  ;  for  the  apparel  oft  proclaims  the 
man.' 

"  The  clothing  and  boots  should  be  such  as  to  stand  wet 
weather.  For  that  reason  good  woollens  are  the  best 
material  and  tailor-made  suits  in  the  long  run  the  most 
serviceable.  The  boots  should  be  comfortable,  thick-soled, 
and  wide-toed.  Often  the  reporter  is  compelled  to  use 
badly  paved  streets  and  worse  suburban  roads,  where  a 
neat  shoe  suitable  for  Broadway  is  torn  to  pieces  and  be- 
comes an  instrument  of  torture  to  the  wearer. 

"  Do  not  advertise  your  shop.  Do  not  carry  large  note- 
books and  a  pocketful  of  well-pointed  pencils.  Make 
your  memory  your  best  notebook.  The  brain  is  like  a 
muscle  :  the  more  it  is  exercised  the  stronger  it  grows. 
A  woman  who  relies  upon  memoranda  will  lose  two- 
thirds  of  her  memory,  while  one  who  relies  upon  the 
memory  will  be  able  to  do  with  a  very  few  notes.  Some 
of  the  great  reporters  of  this  country  and  England  never 
use  a  notebook  unless  it  be  to  record  some  date  or  figure. 
Everything  else  they  store  up  in  their  memory,  and  keep 
it  there  until  they  write  their  article. 

"  When  you  promise  to  show  your  manuscript  before 
publication,  for  correction  and  amendment,  keep  your 
promise,  no  matter  how  much  trouble  it  involves ;  and 
if  you  are  unable  to  do  so,  Write  a  brief  note  of  apology 
and  regret.  Be  careful  about  using  stories  which  are 
defamatory  or  derogatory.  There  are  many  malicious 
people  who  convey  misinformation  indirectly  which  if 
written  out  definitely  may  cause  your  paper  trouble." 

In  this  as  in  all  other  fields  of  labor  the  pay  depends 
more  upon  the  person  than  upon  the  profession.  For  the 
first  two  or  three  years  of  your  work  you  should  average 


312  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

about  eighteen  or  twenty  dollars  a  week  in  one  of  the 
large  cities.  But  you  may  make  fifty  dollars,  while  the 
woman  by  your  side  makes  only  five  dollars,  or  it  may 
be  the  other  way  about.  Superior  ability  with  strict 
honesty  is  sure  to  command  superior  pay.  In  the  news- 
paper business  either  ability  or  the  want  of  it  is  soon 
found  out.  And  in  this  business,  as  in  every  other  busi- 
ness under  the  sun,  honesty  is  not  only  the  best  policy ; 
but  the  only  policy. 

"Corruption  wins  not  more  than  honesty. 
Still  in  thy  right  hand  carry  gentle  peace, 
To  silence  envious  tongues.     Be  just,  and  fear  not." 

Shakespeare. 


THE  JOURNALIST'S    WORK.  313 


CHAPTER   XXIY. 

THE     JOURNALIST'S     WORK. 

For  the  majority  of  people  the  earth  is  a  dull  planet. 
Yet  there  are  exceptions  ;  the  most  numerous  exceptions 
are  lovers  and  journalists.  A  lover  is  one  who  deludes 
himself;  a  journalist  is  one  who  deludes  himself  and 
other  people. —  E.  A.  Bennett. 

The  born  journalist  comes  into  the  world  with  the 
fixed  notion  that  nothing  under  the  sun  is  uninteresting. 
He  says,  "I  cannot  pass  along  the  street,  or  cut  my 
finger,  or  marry,  or  catch  a  cold  or  a  fish,  or  go  to  church, 
or  perform  any  act  whatever,  without  being  impressed 
anew  by  the  interestingness  of  mundane  phenomena,  and 
without  experiencing  a  desire  to  share  this  impression  with 
my  fellow-creatures."  His  notions  about  the  qualities 
of  mundane  phenomena  are,  as  the  majority  knows  too 
well,  a  pathetic,  gigantic  fallacy,  but  to  him  they  are 
real,  and  he  is  so  possessed  by  them  that  he  must  contin- 
ually be  striving  to  impart  them  to  the  public  at  large. 
If  he  can  compel  the  public,  in  spite  of  its  instincts,  to 
share  his  delusions  even  partially,  even  for  an  hour,  then 
he  has  reached  success  and  he  is  in  the  way  to  grow  rich 
and  happy.  —  E.  A.  Bennett. 

Life,  says  the  public,  is  dull.  But  good  newspapers 
are  a  report  of  life,  and  good  newspapers  are  not  dull. 
Therefore  journalism  is  an  art :  it  is  the  art  of  lending  to 
people  and  events  intrinsically  dull  an  interest  which 
does  not  properly  belong  to  them.  —  E.  A.  Bennett. 


314  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

How  to  create  interest  where  interest  is  not  ?  Alas, 
no  dissertation  and  no  teacher  can  answer  the  question. 
As  in  other  arts,  so  in  journalism,  the  high  essentials 
may  not  be  inculcated.  It  is  the  mere  technique  which 
is  imparted.  By  a  curious  paradox,  the  student  is  taught, 
of  art,  only  what  he  already  knows.  Any  one  can  learn 
to  write,  and  to  write  well,  in  any  given  style ;  but  to  see, 
to  discern  the  interestingness  which  is  veiled  from  the 
crowd —  that  comes  not  by  tuition  ;  rather  by  intuition. 
—  E.  A.  Bennett. 

Despite  a  current  impression  to  the  contrary,  implicit 
in  nearly  every  printed  utterance  on  the  subject,  there 
should  not  be  any  essential  functional  disparity  between 
the  journalist  male  and  the  journalist  female.  A  woman 
doctor  is  rightly  regarded  as  a  doctor  who  happens  to  be 
a  woman,  not  as  a  woman  who  happens  to  be  a  doctor. 
She  undergoes  the  same  training  and  submits  to  the  same 
tests  as  the  young  men  who  find  their  distraction  in  the 
music-halls  and  flirt  with  nurses.  But  towards  the  woman 
journalist  our  attitude,  and  her  own,  is  mysteriously  dif- 
ferent. Though  perhaps  we  do  not  say  so,  we  leave  it  to 
be  inferred  that  of  the  dwellers  in  Fleet  Street  there  are 
not  two  sexes,  but  two  species,  — journalists  and  women 
journalists, — and  that  the  one  is  about  as  far  removed 
organically  from  the  other  as  a  dog  from  a  cat.  —  E.  A. 
Bennett. 

Such  a  condition  of  affairs  is  mischievous.  It  works 
injustice  to  both  parties,  but  more  particularly  to  the 
woman,  since  it  sets  an  arbitrary  limit  to  healthy  com- 
petition, while  putting  a  premium  on  mediocrity.  Is 
there  any  sexual  reason  why  a  woman  should  be  a  less 
accomplished  journalist  than  a  man  ?  I  can  find  none. 
Even  in  politics  women  have  excelled.     There  are  at  least 


THE  JOURNALIST'S    WORK.  315 

three  women  journalists  in  Europe  to-day  whose  influence 
is  felt  in  cabinets  and  places  where  they  govern  ;  whereas 
the  man  who  dares  to  write  on  fashions  does  not  exist. 

—  E.  A.  Bennett. 

That  women  journalists  as  a  body  have  faults  no 
one  knows  better  than  myself.  I  should  enumerate  them 
thus :  First,  a  failure  to  appreciate  the  importance  of  the 
maxim  "  Business  is  business."  Stated  plainly,  my  first 
charge  amounts  to  this  :  women  journalists  are  unreliable 
as  a  class.  They  are  unreliable,  not  by  sexual  imper- 
fection, or  from  any  defect  of  loyalty  or  good  faith,  but 
because  they  have  not  yet  understood  the  codes  of  con- 
duct prevailing  in  the  temples  so  recently  opened  to  them. 

—  E.  A.  Bennett. 

Regard,  for  a  moment,  the  average  household  in  the 
light  of  a  business  organization  for  lodging  and  feeding 
a  group  of  individuals ;  contrast  its  lapses,  makeshifts, 
delays,  irregularities,  continual  excuses,  with  the  awful 
precision  of  a  city  office.  Is  it  a  matter  for  surprise  that 
the  young  woman  who  is  accustomed  gaily  to  remark, 
"  only  five  minutes  late  this  morning,  father,"  or  "  I 
quite  forgot  to  order  the  coals,  dear,"  confident  that  a 
frown  or  a  hard  word  will  end  the  affair,  should  carry 
into  business  the  laxities  so  long  permitted  her  in  the 
home  ?  —  E.  A.  Bennett. 

Secondly,  inattention  to  detail.  Though  this  short- 
coming discloses  itself  in  many  and  various  ways,  it  is  to 
be  observed  chiefly  in  the  matter  of  literary  style. 
Women  enjoy  a  reputation  for  slip-shod  style.  They  have 
earned  it.  A  long  and  intimate  familiarity  with  the 
manuscript  of  hundreds  of  women  writers,  renowned 
and  otherwise,  has  convinced  me  that  not  ten  per  cent. 


316  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

of  them  can  be  relied  upon  to  satisfy  even  the  most 
ordinary  tests  in  spelling,  grammar,  and  punctuation. 
Of  course  I  make  no  reference  here  to  the  elegances  and 
refinements  of  written  language.  My  charge  is  that  not 
the  mere  rudiments  are  understood.  —  E.  A.  Bennett. 

Thirdly,  a  lack  of  restraint.  This,  again,  touches  the 
matter  of  literary  style.  Many  women  writers,  though 
by  no  means  all,  have  been  cured  of  the  habit  of  italicis- 
ing, which  was  the  outcome  of  a  natural  desire  to  atone 
for  weakness  by  stridency.  Every  writer,  of  whatever 
sex,  must  carry  on  a  guerilla  against  this  desire.  —  E.  A. 
Bennett. 

More  women  long  and  strive  to  be  journalists  than  by 
natural  gifts  are  fitted  for  the  profession.  By  itself,  the 
wish  is  no  evidence  of  latent  capacity.  The  practice  of 
journalism  does  not  demand  intellectual  power  beyond 
the  endowment  of  the  average  clever  brain.  It  is  less 
difficult,  I  should  say,  to  succeed  moderately  in  jour- 
nalism than  to  succeed  moderately  in  dressmaking.  —  E. 
A.  Bennett. 

How  are  you  to  ascertain  whether  you  have  a  genuine 
predisposition  ?  [Toward  newspaper  work.]  You  may 
come  some  way  towards  deciding  the  point  by  answering 
these  three  questions  :  1.  Are  you  seriously  addicted  to 
reading  newspapers  and  periodicals  ?  2.  Does  the  thought 
regularly  occur  to  you,  apropos  of  fact  or  incident  per- 
sonally observed, "  Here  is  '  copy '  for  a  paper  "  ?  3.  Have 
you  the  reputation  among  your  friends  of  being  a  good 
letter-writer  ?  If  you  cannot  reply  in  the  affirmative  to 
two  of  these  queries,  then  take  up  poker-work,  or  oratory, 
or  fiction,  or  nursing,  but  leave  journalism  alone.  —  E.  A. 
Bennett. 


THE  JOURNALIST'S    WORK.  317 

J.  M.  Barrie's  brilliant  novel,  "When  a  Man's  Single," 
should  be  seriously  studied  by  every  young  journalist. 
It  contains  more  useful  advice  to  the  outside  contribu- 
tor than  all  the  manuals  of  journalism  ever  written. —  E. 
A.  Bennett. 

Journalism  is  a  trade.  It  ought  to-be  a  profession. 
Even  as  a  trade,  journalism  has  no  recognized  standard, 
no  apprenticeship,  no  prescribed  preparation.  Those 
who  follow  it  got  into  it  they  hardly  know  how. — Eugene 
M.  Camp. 

The  scheme  of  teaching  journalism  by  a  college  pro- 
fessor who  is  to  give  especial  attention  to  English  com- 
position, and  to  be  helped  out  by  courses  of  lectures 
given  by  professional  journalists,  seems  to  me  just  as 
much  mistaken  as  would  be  the  attempt  to  teach  medi- 
cine in  the  same  manner.  —  Charles  A.  Dana. 

Journalists  are  the  greatest  of  our  teachers,  and  there 
is  every  reason  why  special  education  should  specially 
fit  them  for  such  teaching,  as  men  are  taught  for  all 
other  channels  of  teaching.  —  Col.  A.  K  McClure. 

A  man  may  be  a  good  doctor,  a  good  lawyer,  or  a  good 
preacher,  and  still  be  a  narrow  man,  a  man  of  strong 
prejudice  ;  but  to  be  a  successful  journalist  one  must  be 
broad,  many-sided,  human.  —  Col.    Chas.  H.  Taylor. 

At  present  there  is  no  place  in  this  country  where 
the  slightest  attention  is  given  to  journalism,  as  a  dis- 
tinct study,  save  in  the  newspaper  offices,  —  where  careful 
preparatory  work  is  manifestly  impossible.  Only  the 
practical  side  of  the  trade  is  acquired  there.  It  is  a  hand- 
to-mouth  instruction.     There  is  no  time  for  the  broaden- 


318  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

ing  of  the  educational  foundations,  and  yet  it  is  only  by 
such  broadening  process  that  any,  save  the  geuiuses  in 
mind  and  body,  can  hope  to  win  success.  —  Eugene  M. 
Camp. 

There  are  in  our  newspaper  offices  hundreds  of  men 
just  entering  middle  life.  They  have  had  years  of  spe- 
cial training  of  the  most  laborious  character.  They  are 
ambitious  to  reap  greater  rewards  in  return  for  their 
peculiar  acquirements.  Four  out  of  five  of  them  are 
unable  to  do  so.  Why  ?  Because  the  technical  training 
they  have  secured  at  the  desks,  at  the  advice  of  the  old- 
school  journalists,  has  made  them  simply  admirable 
machines.  —  Eugene  M.  Camp. 

[The  quotations  credited  to  E.  A.  Bennett  in  this  chap- 
ter are  from  the  valuable  work  "  Journalism  for  Women," 
by  Enoch  Arnold  Bennett,  editor  of  "  Woman,"  London. 
His  opinions  quoted  are  as  applicable  to  journalism  for 
women  in  this  country  as  in  England.] 


DENTISTRY.  319 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

DENTISTRY. 

11  Then  with  no  throbs  of  fiery  pain, 
No  cold  gradations  of  decay.' 

Dr.  SamuelJohn8on. 

Statistics,  those  grave  and  dreadful  things,  show  us 
at  least  two  important  facts  about  women  dentists.  They 
show  us  in  the  first  place  that  the  proportion  of  women 
dentists  to  men  dentists  is  not  large,  being  as  about  five 
hundred  women  to  twenty  thousand  men  in  the  United 
States,  with  the  number  of  women  dentists  rapidly  in- 
creasing ;  and  they  show  us  in  the  next  place  that  the 
women  dentists  are,  as  a  rule,  more  successful  financially 
than  the  men.  Small  as  the  relative  number  is,  —  five 
hundred  women  among  twenty  thousand  men,  —  it  is 
already  large  enough  to  quiet  any  girl's  fear  that  in 
becoming  a  dentist  she  must  travel  unbeaten  paths. 
Where  five  hundred  women  have  gone,  five  thousand  may 
go ;  and  the  lists  of  girl  students  in  the  dental  schools 
indicate  that  the  five  thousand  are  on  the  way. 

There  is  nothing  in  dental  work  that  a  woman  need 
shrink  from.  It  is  not  nearly  as  trying  to  the  nerves  as 
surgery  or  even  trained  nursing,  and  women  do  not 
shrink  from  either  of  those  professions.  I  have  an 
English  work  here  on  women  dentists  (though  there  are 
not  a  half  dozen  in  all  England),  which  calls  dentistry 
most  charming  work  for  women.  Why  ?  Because 
the  woman  dentist  can  talk  till  she  is  tired,  and  not  a 
word  can    her    patient  and   victim    reply.     His    mouth, 


320  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

poor  soul,  is  full  of  rubber  dams  and  orange-wood  plugs, 
and  he  must  grin  and  listen  whether  he  will  or  no. 

There  is  a  reason,  of  course,  why  the  women  dentists 
in  this  country  do  a  little  better  financially  than  the 
men  dentists.  Dentistry  is  a  profession  that  requires  a 
little  capital  —  a  little  capital  left,  I  mean,  after  the 
professional  training  is  paid  for.  It  takes  some  money 
to  open  an  office  in  a  good  neighborhood  in  a  city,  to 
furnish  it,  and  stock  it  with  the  necessary  appliances. 
In  the  country,  in  the  small  town,  less  money  is  required, 
so  the  dentists  of  small  capital,  or  none  at  all,  are  driven 
into  small  towns,  where  their  chances  of  financial 
success  are  much  less.  Women  are  more  economical 
than  men  ;  they  have  few  of  the  little  every-day  demands 
of  men,  that  seem  so  small  at  the  time,  but  in  the  aggre- 
gate use  up  such  a  large  part  of  a  moderate  income.  So 
women  dentists  are  able  generally  to  begin  business  in 
the  cities  and  large  towns.  If  you  make  inquiries  you 
will  find  that  nearly  all  the  women  dentists  are  in  large 
cities  ;  and  when  you  visit  any  of  their  offices  you  will  also 
see  that  they  must  have  had  some  capital  to  begin  with. 

Perhaps  they  earned  this  capital  themselves,  as  you 
may  do  under  favorable  circumstances.  But  it  is  well  at 
any  rate  for  you  to  profit  by  their  example,  and  know 
that  for  a  successful  start  you  must  have  some  little 
capital.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  have  only  enough  to  carry 
you  through  the  dental  school ;  to  give  you  the  best 
chance,  you  should  have  at  least  five  hundred  dollars  at 
command  when  you  are  ready  to  begin  work.  But  this 
need  not  discourage  you,  for  if  you  are  capable  you  can 
earn  the  money  by  working  for  some  other  dentist  before 
you  open  your  own  office.  Not  only  in  this  profession, 
but  in  all  other  professions  and  business,  a  little  capital 
generally  makes  the  difference  between  a  good  start  and 
a  struggle. 


DENTISTRY.  321 

All  over  the  world  American  dentists  are  appreciated, 
whether  they  be  men  or  women.  We  are  not  in  all 
things  quite  as  far  in  advance  of  other  countries  as  we 
imagine,  but  in  dentistry  America  is  almost  without  a 
competitor.  Very  likely  we  have  the  best  dentists 
because  we  have  the  most  need  of  them,  but  if  that  is 
the  case  it  is  only  another  inducement  that  the  pro- 
fession offers.  In  this  English  work  that  I  have  referred 
to  I  find  the  statement  that  women  are  not  admitted  to 
the  dental  colleges  in  England  ;  and  this  is  coupled  with 
the  admission  that  "if  there  is  one  claim  more  than 
another  that  the  American  has  annexed  and  cultivated 
with  brilliant  results,  it  is  dentistry.  Yet  this  wonder- 
ful American  man  does  not  mind  American  women  being 
dentists  too.  And  dentists  accordingly  many  American 
women  are  —  so  many  as  to  supply  the  United  States, 
and  to  leave  some  over  for  European  needs.  In  Ger- 
many women  dentists,  some  of  whom  are  Germans  with 
American  qualifications,  are  tolerably  numerous.  In 
England  there  are  only  two  or  three." 

The  regulations  for  admission  to  the  profession  are 
slightly  different  in  the  different  States,  as  they  are  in 
most  professions.  In  all  the  States  a  high-school  educa- 
tion, or  its  equivalent,  is  sufficient.  In  the  State  of  New 
York  the  requirements  for  admission  and  for  the  degree 
of  D.D.S.  are  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  requirements 
in  law  or  medicine.  The  Regents  of  the  University  con- 
trol the  issuing  of  certificates ;  and  candidates,  or  others 
interested,  can  obtain  detailed  information  by  writing  to 
the  Examination  Department  of  the  University  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  at  Albany.  One  dental  school 
announces  in  its  catalogue  that  "  Our  experience  in  the 
training  of  women  for  the  profession  of  dentistry  has 
been  such  as  to  recommend  them  to  enter  it.  Classes  are 
increasing,  and  applications  are  abundant.  We  are  not 
only  willing,  but  glad,  to  have  them." 


322  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

To  most  of  the  large  dental  schools  women  are  now 
admitted  on  equal  terms  with  men;  and  such  schools 
may  be  found  in  nearly  all  the  large  cities.  The  National 
Woman's  Dental  Association,  with  nearly  one  hundred 
members,  has  its  headquarters  in  Philadelphia. 

The  following  is  the  course  of  study  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania College  of  Dental  Surgery,  of  Philadelphia,  which 
is  open  to  both  men  and  women : 

PENNSYLVANIA   COLLEGE   OF   DENTAL   SURGERY. 

REQUIREMENTS    FOR   ADMISSION. 

I.  Candidates  for  entrance  will  be  expected  to  pass  an  examina- 
tion corresponding  to  that  required  at  the  close  of  a  one-year  course 
of  a  high  school,  but  a  certificate  of  educational  qualification 
equivalent  or  superior  to  such  a  course  will  be  accepted  as  suffi- 
cient for  admission  without  examination. 

A  matriculate  examination  is  not  required  of  those  coming  with 
an  intermediate  certificate  from  other  recognized  dental  schools. 

II.  Students  from  other  recognized  dental  schools  will  be  re- 
ceived into  the  junior  or  senior  class  of  this  College  upon  presen- 
tation of  a  certificate  of  having  passed  a  satisfactory  examination 
in  the  studies  of  the  freshman  or  junior  years  respectively. 

III.  Applicants  presenting  diplomas  from  reputable  colleges  of 
medicine  or  pharmacy  will  be  entitled  to  enter  the  second  or  junior 
year  without  further  examination. 

IV.  Undergraduates  of  reputable  medical  colleges  who  have 
regularly  completed  one  full  scholastic  year,  and  have  passed  a 
satisfactory  examination,  may  be  admitted  to  the  second  year,  or 
junior  class,  by  passing  the  examinations  governing  admission  to 
that  class  and  performing  the  technic  work  of  the  freshman  year. 

COURSE   OF  INSTRUCTION. 

PRINCIPLES    AND    PRACTICE    OF    OPERATIVE    DENTISTRY. 

Instruction  from  this  Chair,  which  is  given  to  the  third-year 
class,  embraces  comparative  Odontology,  causes  of  structural 
degeneracy  of  the  teeth  and  of  dental  and  maxillary  malforma- 
tions ;  and  as  a  leading  feature  of  the  third  course,  thorough  in- 


DENTISTRY.  328 

struction  is  given  in  the  correcting  of  such  malformations,  by 
those  methods  of  regulating  which  have  proved  most  serviceable 
in  the  extended  experience  of  the  incumbent  of  this  Chair.  The 
subject  is  of  such  great  importance  that  no  pains  are  spared  to  fully 
elucidate  its  principles  and  practice.  These  lectures  are  illus- 
trated by  a  large  and  varied  collection  of  models  and  drawings, 
covering  every  class  of  cases,  and  embrace  a  full  description  of 
the  methods  of  construction  and  application  of  Jthe  various  appli- 
ances employed.  Transplantation,  replantation,  and  implantation 
are  fully  considered.  In  this  course  the  general  hygiene  of  the 
mouth  is  also  considered,  as  well  as  the  formation  and  effect  of 
deposits  upon  the  teeth  and  root  investment,  and  the  methods  for 
their  removal  by  mechanical  and  other  means.  Valuable  formula? 
for  dentifrices  and  mouth  washes  are  given,  with  the  indications 
for  their  employment.  The  course  concludes  with  the  study  of 
facial  neuralgia  and  other  reflex  neuroses  associated  with  abnormal 
conditions  of  the  teeth,  together  with  methods  for  their  diagnosis 
and  treatment. 

While  the  general  sequence  of  lecture-room  instruction,  as  given 
in  this  synopsis,  is  closely  adhered  to,  it  should  be  clearly  under- 
stood that  in  practical  clinical  work  students  are  not  rigidly  con- 
fined to  the  lines  as  above  laid  down,  but  in  all  cases  they  are 
advanced  from  simple  to  more  complex  and  difficult  operations  as 
fast  as  their  progress  and  proficiency  justify. 

PROSTHETIC    DENTISTRY. 

During  the  first  year  the  student  is  instructed  in  the  principles 
involved  in  the  preparation  of  the  mouth  for  an  artificial  denture, 
in  the  manner  of  taking  impressions  and  making  casts  and  articu- 
lations. For  this  course  lecture-room  instruction,  as  well  as 
practical  laboratory  work,  will  be  devoted  to  the  construction  of 
dentures  upon  the  plastic  bases,  rubber  and  celluloid,  and  upon 
bases  of  fusible  alloys.  In  connection  with  these,  as  well  as 
with  all  other  allied  processes,  the  chemistry  and  the  physical 
properties  of  the  materials  employed  are  fully  taught,  and  a  care- 
ful study  is  made  of  tooth  forms  as  varied  by  age,  sex,  and  tempera- 
ment. For  the  latter  studies  the  foundation  is  laid  in  the  modelling 
classes. 

In  the  second  year's  course  the  student  is  instructed  in  the  mak- 
ing of  the  various  forms  of  artificial  crowns  and  of  artificial  den- 


324  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

tures  upon  metallic  bases ;  this  includes  the  making  of  dies  and 
counter-dies,  smelting,  refining,  and  soldering  processes,  swedging 
of  plates,  selection  and  mounting  of  teeth,  etc. 

Crown  and  bridge  work  is  the  leading  feature  of  the  third  year's 
course.  Instruction  in  these  important  processes  is  thorough, 
systematic,  and  fully  illustrated  by  drawings,  diagrams,  and 
models ;  these  aids  to  knowledge  being  freely  employed  not  only 
in  these  but  in  all  other  lectures  and  demonstrations  in  the  pros- 
thetic department.  This  course  also  embraces  full  instruction  in 
continuous  gum-work,  and  in  the  making  of  obturators  and  artifi- 
cial vela,  for  the  correction  of  the  deformities  of  the  hard  and  soft 
palate,  and  of  interdental  and  other  splints  for  the  treatment  of 
maxillary  fracture. 

PROSTHETIC    TECHNICS. 

The  student  of  the  first  year  is  given  one  lecture  each  week  in 
which  the  actual  prosthetic  work  required  during  this  term  will  be 
taken  up  piece  by  piece,  and  the  methods  of  procedure  given  in  de- 
tail. By  this  system  the  student  retires  from  the  lecture-room  to 
the  laboratory  fully  prepared  for  actual  work.  After  the  comple- 
tion of  the  practical  examination  work,  which  includes  eight  or  ten 
pieces,  both  simple  and  complex  in  character,  the  course  concludes 
with  a  general  reference  to  all  operations  pertaining  to  dental  pros- 
thesis. 

MATERIA    MEDICA    AND    THERAPEUTICS. 

This  course  begins  with  the  classification  of  drugs  into  remedial 
groups,  the  names  and  character  of  official  preparations,  and  the 
forms,  signs,  and  symbols  used  in  prescription  writing. 

The  origin,  nature,  effects,  and  uses  of  the  individual  drugs  re- 
ceive careful  study,  special  attention  being  directed  to  those  most 
used  in  dental  practice. 

The  nature  and  effects  of  the  various  anaesthetic  agents  em- 
ployed in  dental  and  oral  surgery  are  fully  considered,  and  practi- 
cal drill  is  given  in  their  administration,  and  in  the  conduct  of  re- 
medial measures  in  cases  where  dangerous  symptoms  arise. 

CHEMISTRY    AND    METALLURGY. 

In  this  course  the  student  is  instructed  in  the  principles  of  nota- 
tion and  nomenclature,  and  also  such  subjects  in  Physics  as  include 
points  which  bear  on  the  instruction  in  other  departments  of  the 


DENTISTRY.  325 

College.  Practical  instruction  in  the  chemical  laboratory  will  form 
an  important  feature,  and  will  be  continued  through  the  course. 
The  laboratory  work  enables  the  student  to  become  familiar  with 
the  appearance,  properties,  and  reactions  of  all  important  and 
chemical  substances.  The  instruction  is  given  separately  to  first 
and  second  year  students,  the  classes  being  divided  for  the  purpose. 
Considerable  attention  is  given  to  the  explanation  and  illustration 
of  electrical  apparatus  employed  in  dental  practice. 

At  the  close  of  the  term  first-year  students  are  examined  in  the 
elementary  principles  of  chemistry,  and  such  portions  of  the  de- 
scriptive chemistry  as  have  been  included  in  the  course.  The  lect- 
ures to  the  second  year  will  be  devoted  to  metallurgy  and  organic 
chemistry,  and  at  the  close  of  the  term  the  second-year  students  are 
examined  in  these  topics. 

PHYSIOLOGY,  GENERAL  PATHOLOGY,  AND  BACTERIOLOGY. 

The  instruction  in  this  department  consists  of  didactic  lectures 
on  human  physiology  and  general  pathology,  supplemented  by 
laboratory  demonstrations  relating  to  histology,  bacteriology,  and 
general  physiology.  This  instruction,  in  accordance  with  the  re- 
quirements of  a  graded  course,  is  distributed  according  to  the  needs 
of  the  student  during  the  entire  college  term. 

During  the  first  and  second  years  the  instruction  is  confined 
largely  to  a  consideration  of  the  functions  of  the  human  body 
with  special  reference  to  their  relationship  to  the  practice  of  den- 
tistry. These  lectures  are  illustrated  by  experiment,  models,  dia- 
grams, and  photographs  of  normal  tissues  exhibited  by  means  of 
the  projecting  lantern.  Laboratory  instruction,  illustrating  the 
methods  employed  in  histological  and  bacteriological  research, 
constitutes  an  essential  part  of  the  course. 

During  the  third  year  the  instruction  includes  a  course  of  lect- 
ures on  general  pathology,  embracing  topics  which  have  a  relation 
to  the  pathological  states  of  the  dental  tissues  ;  e.g.,  inflammation, 
bacteria  and  their  relation  to  local  or  general  diseases ;  the  tuber- 
cular, syphilitic,  and  uric  acid  diathesis  ;  tumors,  pathologicalstates 
of  the  heart,  etc. 

DENTAL  ANATOMY  AND  DENTAL  HISTOLOGY. 

Dental  Anatomy.  —  The  course  of  instruction  in  these  impor- 
tant branches  of  dental  education  embraces  the  gross  and  minute 
anatomy  of  the  mouth,  the  teeth,  and  related  parts,  presented  in 


326  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

such  a  manner  that  the  student  may  obtain  a  comprehensive  idea  of 
the  subject.  Beginning  with  a  general  description  of  the  mouth 
and  teeth,  the  course  continues  with  special  attention  to  the  classi- 
fication of  the  teeth,  their  forms  and  functions,  followed  by  a 
minute  description  of  their  various  surfaces,  angles,  ridges, 
grooves,  etc.  After  the  student  has  become  familiar  with  the  sub- 
ject as  above  stated  the  study  of  tooth  development  is  taken  up 
and  treated  both  from  a  microscopical  and  macroscopical  stand- 
point, including  the  generation,  nutrition,  and  eruption  of  the  or- 
gans. 

Dental  Histology.  —  Under  this  head  the  instruction  includes  the 
minute  anatomy  of  the  tissues  of  the  teeth,  and  the  histological  ele- 
ments. 

Many  of  the  lectures  in  this  department  are  illustrated  by  lantern 
slides,  in  most  instances  reproduced  by  numerous  dissections  from 
the  actual  subject,  in  the  preparation  of  which  the  incumbent  of 
the  Chair  has  made  a  special  effort  fully  to  cover  the  branches 
under  consideration.  In  conjunction  with  the  lectures  on  dental 
anatomy  the  student  is  expected  to  attend  the  class  instruction 
elsewhere  referred  to,  where,  with  the  assistance  of  a  competent 
instructor,  much  additional  information  will  be  obtained  by  numer- 
ous dissections  upon  individual  teeth. 

CLINICAL    DENTISTRY    AND    ORAL    PATHOLOGY. 

That  students  may  derive  the  greatest  possible  advantage  from 
the  time  given  to  the  study  of  clinical  dentistry  the  course  of  in- 
struction is  carefully  systematized,  beginning  with  elementary  prin- 
ciples and  the  simpler  details  of  technical  processes  ;  after  students 
have  been  thoroughly  grounded  in  these  principles,  and  only  then, 
they  are  advanced  gradually  and  progressively  to  those  more  com- 
plex and  difficult.  To  the  end  that  a  clear,  definite,  and  orderly 
comprehension  of  the  technical  terms  employed  in  dentistry  may 
be  secured,  lectures  begin  with  dental  nomenclature.  Following 
this,  the  course  embraces  the  eruption,  nutrition,  and  physiology 
of  the  teeth;  dental  caries — the  classification  of  cavities,  their 
preparation  for,  and  the  methods  of  filling;  the  several  filling  ma- 
terials, their  relative  values  —  physical  qualities,  adaptation,  and 
the  instruments  and  appliances  employed  in  their  manipulation. 
The  preparation,  sterilization,  and  filling  of  root  canals ;  the  various 
methods  of  bleaching  discolored  teeth;   and  the  principles  underly- 


DENTISTRY.  327 

ing  the  adaptation  of  artificial  crowns  and  bridge-work,  and  the  ad- 
visability of  their  use,  are  set  forth. 

Instruction  in  oral  pathology  embraces  such  portions  of  general 
pathology  as  have  a  bearing  upon  the  special  field  of  dental  prac- 
tice. The  infantile  disturbances  possible  during  dentition ;  the 
pathological  relations  of  the  teeth  to  the  other  parts  of  the  system ; 
pathological  actions  involving  the  tissues  of  the  teeth  — diseases  of 
the  dental  pulp,  periodontitis,  alveolar  abscess,  excementosis,  and 
dental  caries ;  the  classification  of  bacteria  instrumental  in  the 
causation  of  dental  caries  ;  pyorrhea  alveolaris  ;  morbid  growths 
found  in  the  oral  cavity;  empyema  of  the  antrum;  necrosis,  and 
numerous  other  conditions  which  are  of  interest  to  the  dental  prac- 
titioner. 

ANATOMY. 

Instruction  in  this  department  embraces  practical  anatomical 
work  in  the  dissecting-room,  and  a  systematic  course  of  lectures  on 
descriptive  anatomy,  fully  illustrated  by  dissections  of  the  cadaver, 
preparations,  models,  drawings,  etc.  The  entire  body  is  studied, 
but,  owing  to  its  important  relations  to  dental  and  oral  surgery, 
special  attention  is  directed  to  the  anatomy  of  the  head  and  face. 

SURGICAL  PATHOLOGY  AND  ORAL  SURGERY. 

This  course  embraces  the  surgical  pathology  of  the  mouth,  the 
maxillary  and  nasal  bones  and  associated  sinuses  and  tissues. 
Operations  are  performed  for  cleft  of  the  hard  and  soft  palates, 
dental  alveolar  and  maxillary  necrosis ;  the  removal  of  tumors  and 
other  abnormal  growths.  The  technique  of  nerve  resections  for 
the  relief  of  persistent  neuralgia  is  taught  and  illustrated,  as  are 
also  the  operations  of  tracheotomy  or  intubation,  both  important 
procedures  in  cases  of  prolonged  failure  of  respiration  during  the 
administration  of  anaesthetics. 

CLINICAL   AND    CLASS    INSTRUCTION. 

Operative  Dentistry. —  The  Clinical  Department  is  in  charge  of 
the  Professor  of  Clinical  Dentistry,  who  will  direct  all  clinical  in- 
struction. Several  hours  each  day  are  devoted  to  actual  practice, 
under  the  supervision  of  the  demonstrators  in  attendance. 

The  number  of  patients  presenting  themselves  for  treatment  at 
the  clinics  is  always  sufficient  to  give  each  student  opportunity  to 
acquire  practical  knowledge  and  skill  in  manipulation.     The  clin- 


328  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

ical  service  of  the  college  is  open  and  in  active  operation  eight 
months  in  each  year.  There  are  annually  over  25,000  visits  made 
by  patients  to  this  institution. 

The  operating-rooms  are  furnished  with  a  large  number  of  chairs, 
many  of  them  being  of  the  most  approved  pattern,  such  as  the 
Wilkerson  and  Columbia.  The  College  is  supplied  with  a  complete 
equipment  of  the  most  approved  electrical  apparatus  employed  in 
modern  dental  practice.  Certain  hours  are  fixed  for  practical  work, 
thus  insuring  to  each  student  a  rich  and  varied  practical  experience. 
Each  student  is  required  to  provide  his  own  instruments.  He  is 
expected  to  keep  them  in  good  order,  and  will  be  provided  with  a 
convenient  closet  in  which  they  can  be  locked  when  not  in  use. 

Early  in  the  term  first-course  students,  who  have  not  had  pre- 
vious experience  in  operative  dentistry,  receive  practical  instruction 
in  the  preparation  of  Cavities  of  decay  in  natural  teeth  removed 
from  the  mouth,  and  in  the  methods  of  filling  the  same  with  such 
material  as  the  demonstrator  shall  designate.  Also  in  the  applica- 
tion of  anaesthetic,  antiseptic,  and  other  dressings  to  carious  cavities, 
exposed  pulps,  root  canals,  alveolar  abscesses,  and  fistulas.  The 
knowledge  gained  in  this  way  of  the  density  and  structure  of  the 
tooth  tissues,  and  the  location  and  relative  size  of  the  pulp  chamber 
and  canals,  as  well  as  the  technique  of  processes  of  treatment  and 
filling,  is  an  indispensable  preparation  for  intelligently  conducted 
operations  upon  teetli  in  situ.  As  soon  as  a  sufficient  degree  of 
skill  has  been  acquired  by  this  method  students  are  assigned  to  the 
simpler  forms  of  dental  operations  in  the  clinics.  Special  clinical 
instruction  is  given  by  the  Professor  of  Clinical  Dentistry,  cases 
being  taken  up  and  completed,  thus  giving  the  student  a  correct 
idea  of  working  at  the  chair  and  of  the  general  treatment  of  the 
patient. 

Dental  Anatomy  Classes. —  In  these  classes  a  careful  study  is 
made  of  the  anatomical  relations  of  the  teeth  to  their  associated 
parts,  the  method  of  distribution  of  their  blood  and  nerve  supply, 
and  the  shape  and  relative  position  of  the  pulp  chamber  and  root 
canals.  Each  student  is  required  to  make  a  sufficient  number  of 
transverse  and  longitudinal  sections  of  the  teeth,  both  separate  and 
in  connection  with  the  maxillary  bones,  to  bring  their  anatomical 
relations  fully  into  view  and  fix  them  indelibly  in  the  memory. 
From  the  more  important  and  successful  sectional  cuttings  sil- 
houette impressions  are  made  in  duplicate,  one  being  preserved 
by  the  student,  the  other  by  the  College. 


DENTISTRY.  329 

Prosthetic  Dentistry. —  The  laboratory  of  this  department  is 
spacious,  well  lighted,  and  fully  equipped  with  all  the  latest  and 
most  approved  appliances,  such  as  electric  lathes,  furnaces  for  the 
smelting  of  metals  and  for  the  fusing  of  porcelain  dentures,  roll- 
ing-mill moulding  and  soldering  apparatus,  blow-pipes,  vulcanizers, 
etc.  The  smaller  instruments  necessary  for  laboratory  work  each 
student  is  required  to  furnish  for  himself,  and  while  not  obligatory, 
it  is  recommended  that  early  in  the  course  he  shall  supply  himself 
with  a  vulcanizer  in  order  that  he  may  have  this  important  appa- 
ratus under  his  personal  control  and  always  at  his  command.  Spe- 
cial locked  closets  are  provided  for  their  safe-keeping. 

In  the  laboratory  students  are  required  to  go  through  all  the 
necessary  manipulations  connected  with  the  making  and  insertion 
of  artificial  teeth,  from  taking  the  impression  of  the  mouth  to  the 
entire  construction  of  the  denture  and  its  insertion  in  the  mouth  of 
the  patient. 

A  part  of  each  day  is  given  up  to  class  instruction,  beginning 
with  rubber,  celluloid,  and  other  moulded  bases ;  advancing  to  all 
forms  of  plate-work,  including  continuous  gum,  crown  and  bridge 
work,  and  the  making  of  crowns  and  plates  by  electro-deposit. 
Classes  in  modelling  and  carving  teeth  constitute  a  most  important 
feature  of  the  course.  Class  instruction  in  the  making  of  obtur- 
ators, artificial  vela,  and  interdental  splints  is  also  given. 

Crown  and  Bridge  Work.  —  Great  care  is  taken  to  secure  to 
each  student  thorough  skill  in  the  most  approved  crown  and  bridge 
work  process.  The  teaching  of  the  instructor  in  this  department 
is  directly  personal  in  character.  Large  numbers  of  the  standard 
forms  of  crowns  and  bridges  are  made  by  him  in  the  presence  of 
the  sub-classes,  every  detail  both  on  the  model  and  in  the  mouth 
being  fully  explained  and  illustrated.  Working  models  of  typical 
cases  are  furnished,  upon  which  the  student  is  taught  to  construct 
crown  and  bridge-work  denture  in  the  prescribed  manner.  After 
a  mastery  of  technique  has  been  acquired  by  the  making  of  cases 
upon  models,  practical  work  is  furnished  in  the  College  clinics. 

Modelling  Classes.  —  It  having  been  found  that  the  student  can 
obtain  an  accurate  knowledge  of  tooth  forms  in  no  other  way  so 
readily  as  by  reproducing  such  forms  in  plastic  materials,  Classes 
in  Modelling  have  been  instituted.  In  these  the  individual  teeth 
are  taken  up  in  order,  and  the  student  is  taught  to  make  in  plastic 
substances  and  to  scale  exact  but  enlarged  copies  of  the  same. 
By  this  means  not  only  are  the  surface  anatomy,  the  form,  con- 


330  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

tour,  and  relative  dimensions  of  the  teeth  fixed  in  the  memory, 
but  that  artistic  sense  so  important  in  all  departments  of  practical 
dentistry  is  quickened,  developed,  and  trained.  After  this  pre- 
liminary training  the  student  is  prepared  to  take  up  the  carving  of 
teeth  of  natural  size,  singly  and  in  block,  the  reshaping  of 
moulded  teeth  so  frequently  required  for  artistic  reasons,  their 
natural  arrangement  and  articulation  and  the  contouring  of  gum 
surfaces,  festoons  and  rugae  in  rubber,  continuous  gum  and  other 
dentures. 

Classes  in  Dental  Ceramics.  —  In  these  classes  complete  prac- 
tical instruction  is  given  in  continuous  gum-work,  carving  of  block 
teeth  and  full  porcelain  dentures,  porcelain  bridges,  porcelain 
inlays,  porcelain  crowns,  etc.  The  composition  and  preparation 
of  the  bodies,  enamels,  stains,  etc.,  used  in  dental  ceramics  is 
taught  and  exemplified  and  also  the  use  of  all  the  approved  forms 
of  coal,  gas,  oil,  and  electric  furnaces. 

Electro- Deposit  Classes.  —  In  these  cases  the  student  is  given  the 
formulae  for  the  various  solutions  employed ;  he  is  made  famil- 
iar with  the  construction  and  management  of  batteries,  and  is 
taught  the  method  of  preparing  casts,  etc.,  for  the  electro-deposit 
of  crowns  and  plates.  The  classes  are  so  arranged  that  each  stu- 
dent has  full  opportunity  for  gaining  not  only  theoretical  knowl- 
edge, but  practical  skill  in  the  art.  In  addition  to  making  of 
crowns  and  plates  by  electro-deposit  instruction  in  electro-plating 
with  gold,  silver,  copper,  and  nickel  is  also  given. 

Classes  in  Pharmacology  and  Materia  Medica.  —  In  this  course 
of  laboratory  instruction  students  obtain  practical  acquaintance 
with  drugs  by  personal  examination  of  their  physical  and  chemical 
characteristics  and  by  special  study  of  their  therapeutic,  toxicolog- 
ical,  and  bacteriological  relations,  the  latter  being  investigated  by 
aid  of  cultures  of  the  pathological  organisms  found  in  the  oral 
cavity;  anaesthetics,  local  and  general,  are  prepared  and  admin- 
istered and  instruction  given  in  artificial  respiration  and  other 
restorative  processes.  So  much  of  practical  pharmacy  is  taught  as 
is  requisite  for  making,  in  accordance  with  approved  pharmaceutical 
methods,  the  preparations  chiefly  employed  in  dental  practice, 
including  the  various  aqueous  and  alcoholic  solutions,  lotions, 
protectives,  and  dentifrices. 

Class  Instruction.  — The  demonstrators  having  charge  of  labora- 
tory and  class  instruction  are  thoroughly  skilled  in  the  processes 
which  they  respectively  teach.     By  the  placing  of  students  in  sub 


DENTISTRY.  331 

classes  of  convenient  size,  each  -working  at  stated  hours  of  each 
day  throughout  the  session,  time  is  economized,  and  the  instruction 
is  made  personal  in  character  as  well  as  systematic,  thorough,  and 
progressive,  equal  in  all  respects,  and  in  many  superior,  to  that 
obtainable  in  the  best  private  laboratories. 

Practical  Chemistry .  —  Greatly  increased  space  has  been  secured 
for  the  laboratory,  which  has  been  refitted  with  improved  appli- 
ances for  chemical  and  metallurgical  work.  'The  instruction  in 
this  department  is  entirely  practical,  and  is  given  to  every  member 
of  the  class  without  charge.  Each  student  is  supplied  with  the 
necessary  apparatus  and  chemicals,  and  taught  under  the  personal 
supervision  of  the  Professor  and  Demonstrator  of  Chemistry. 

Practical  Anatomy.  —  In  the  dissecting-room  of  the  College 
ample  facilities  are  afforded  for  the  study  of  Practical  Anatomy 
under  the  most  advantageous  conditions.  The  work  embraces  the 
study  of  the  bones  and  their  articulations,  with  the  aid  of  carefully 
prepared  specimens,  and  dissection  of  the  trunk  and  extremities, 
the  head,  face,  neck,  and  viscera. 

Hospital  Clinics.  —  In  addition  to  the  facilities  afforded  by  the 
College  for  a  thorough  course  of  instruction  in  the  theory  and 
practice  of  dentistry  the  celebrated  hospitals  and  clinics  of  the 
city  enable  the  students  to  constantly  witness  important  surgical 
operations.  The  medical  and  surgical  clinics  of  the  Pennsylvania 
and  Philadelphia  Hospitals  —  two  of  the  largest  eleemosynary 
establishments  in  the  world  —  are  open  at  all  times  to  students  of 
this  College. 

QUALIFICATION   FOR   GRADUATION. 

The  College  has  adopted  the  requirements  of  the  National  Asso- 
ciation of  Dental  Faculties  of  the  United  States,  as  follows  : 

The  candidate  must  be  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  must  have 
attended  three  winter  courses  of  lectures,  the  last  of  which  shall 
have  been  at  this  College. 

Satisfactory  evidence  of  having  attended  two  winter  courses  in  a 
reputable  dental  school  is  accepted  as  the  equivalent  of  two  courses 
of  lectures  in  the  College. 

Graduates  in  medicine  and  in  pharmacy  are  eligible  to  examina- 
tion for  graduation  aft»  r  two  years'  service  in  the  clinical  depart- 
ments of  the  College  and  attendance  upon  two  regular  winter 
sessions. 

Candidates    for   graduation   must   treat  a  sufficient   number  of 


332  HELPS   FOB   AMBITIOUS    GIBLS. 

patients  requiring  the  usual  dental  operations,  to  satisfy  the  Pro- 
fessors of  Operative  and  Clinical  Dentistry  and  Prosthetic  Den- 
tistry as  to  their  proficiency.  They  must  also  prepare  specimen 
cases  for  examination  and  approval  by  the  Professors  in  the  Pros- 
thetic Department.  These  operations  must  be  performed  and  the 
work  on  the  artificial  cases  must  be  done  at  the  College  building 
and  be  completed  by  the  first  of  March,  at  which  time  the  gradua- 
tion fee,  thirty  dollars,  must  be  paid.  They  must  also  undergo  an 
examination  by  the  Faculty,  when,  if  found  qualified,  they  are 
recommended  to  the  Board  of  Corporators,  and  if  approved  by 
them  receive  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental  Surgery. 

The  Faculty  having  adopted  the  rule  of  the  National  Associa- 
tion of  Dental  Faculties  requiring  a  three  years'  course  in  all 
Dental  Colleges  and  Departments  under  its  jurisdiction,  notice  is 
hereby  given  that  all  matriculates  entering  this  school,  who  have 
not  hud  previous  collegiate  instruction  in  dentistry,  medicine;,  or 
pharmacy  are  required  to  remain  three  winter  sessions  before  they 
are  entitled  to  an  examination  for  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Dental 
Surgery. 

Students  should  be  in  attendance  on  or  before  October  10;  the 
fact  of  previous  matriculation  does  not  meet  the  requirements. 

GRADUATION    IN    MEDICINE. 

By  an  arrangement  with  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  such 
students  as  may  desire  to  do  so  can,  if  found  qualified,  obtain  the 
two  degrees,  in  Dentistry  and  Medicine,  in  five  years.  Students 
desiring  to  graduate  in  medicine  are  required  to  notify  the  dean 
of  their  intention  at  the  beginning  of  their  second  course. 

TEXT-BOOKS  AND  WORKS  OF    REFERENCE. 

Operative  Dentistry,  Dental  Physiology,  and  Dental  Pathology. 
—  Harris'  Principles  and  Practice ;  Litch's  American  System  of 
Dentistry ;  Taft's  Operative  Dentistry ;  Farrar  on  Irregularities  of 
the  Teeth  and  their  Correction ;  the  American  Text-Book  of  Opera- 
tive Dentistry ;  Warren's  Compend  of  Dental  Pathology  and 
Dental  Medicine. 

Prosthetic  Dentistry.  —  Richardson's  Mechanical  Dentistry ; 
The  American  Text-Book  of  Prosthetic  Dentistry;  Warren's 
Compend  of  Dental  Prosthesis  and  Metallurgy. 

Materia   Medica     and    Therapeutics,  —  Potter's    Materia    Med- 


DENTISTRY.  333 

ica,  Pharmacy,  and  Therapeutics ;  Bartholow's  Practice  of  Medi- 
cine; Potter's  Compend  of  Materia  Medica,  Therapeutics,  and  Pre- 
scription Writing;  Burchard's  Dental  Pathology,  Therapeutics,  and 
Pharmacology. 

Dental  Anatomy  and  Dental  Histology.  —  Bromell's  Anatomy 
and  Histology  of  the  Mouth  and  Teeth ;  Thompson's  Comparative 
Dental  Anatomy;  Black's  Descriptive  Anatomy  of  the  Human 
Teeth ;  Tome's  Dental  Anatomy  and  Dental  'Surgery ;  Strieker's 
Histology. 

Physiology.  — ■  Yeo's  or  Chapman's  Physiology  ;  Brubaker's  Com- 
pend of  Physiology. 

General  Pathology.  —  Green's  Pathological  Anatomy  ;  Rind- 
fleisch's  Pathological  History. 

Anatomy  and  Surgery.  —  Gray's  Morris'  (New)  or  Wilson's 
(11th  Ed.)  Anatomy;  Gross'  or  Ashhurst's  System  of  Surgery; 
Heath  on  the  Injuries  and  Diseases  of  the  Jaw ;  Marshall's  Oral 
Surgery. 

Chemistry  and  Metallurgy .  —  Leffmann's  Compend  of  Chemis- 
try ;  Leffmann's  Progressive  Exercises  in  Practical  Chemistry ; 
Gould's  Medical  Dictionary. 

From  this  list  the  student  can  make  his  selection  of  text-books  and  works  of 
reference.  He  should  have  at  least  one  standard  work  upon  each  subject  taught 
in  the  College. 

FEES. 

Matriculation  (paid  but  once) $5  00 

For  each  winter  course 100  00 

Dissecting-ticket 10  00 

Diploma  30  00 

Graduates  of  this  College,  or  students  who  have  already  paid  for  three  winter 
sessions  and  are  entitled  to  graduate,  are  allowed  to  attend  a  fourth  year's 
course  by  paying  a  fee  of  $25  for  clinical  advantages. 

INSTRUMENTS. 

The  instruments  required  for  use  in  the  College  can  be  procured 
for  from  $35  to  $45.  These  are  such  as  will  be  necessary  in  prac- 
tice after  the  College  course  is  finished.  This  sum  does  not  include 
price  of  the  dental  engine,  the  cost  of  which  will  be  about  $40. 

BOARD    FOR    STUDENTS. 

Board  can  be  obtained  at  from  $4  to  $6  per  week,  according  to 
location  and  accommodations.  Students  generally  pay  about  $5 
per  week  in  locations  near  the  College. 


834  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

The  Intercollegiate  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  es- 
tablished a  bureau  in  the  college  building,  and  a  committee  will  be 
in  attendance  to  assist  the  stranger  student  in  securing  proper  and 
comfortable  accommodations,  and  to  give  other  information  regard- 
ing the  city  and  college  life. 

"     .     .     .     Last  scene  of  all, 

That  ends  this  [life's]  strange  eventful  history, 

Is  second  childishness  and  mere  oblivion, 

Sans  teeth,  sans  eyes,  sans  taste,  sans  everything." 

Shakespeare. 


THE  DENTIST'S   OPPORTUNITY.  335 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THE    DENTIST'S    OPPORTUNITY. 

Without  a  broad,  general  education  in  the  science  of 
medicine  dentistry  will  be  unable  to  meet  the  necessities 
of  the  case  or  successfully  cope  with  the  situation. 
Even  then  the  remedy  must  be  largely  educational. 
Millions  of  teeth  are  sacrificed  because  of  ignorance. 
The  masses  do  not  appreciate  their  importance  and  value, 
and  know  nothing  of  the  possibilities  of  dental  science. 
—  Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D.,  in  "  What  Wome?i  can 
Earn." 

Pain  itself  is  not  without  its  alleviations.  It- may  be 
violent  and  frequent,  but  it  is  seldom  both  violent  and 
long-continued  ;  and  its  pauses  and  intermissions  become 
positive  pleasures.  It  has  the  power  of  shedding  a  sat- 
isfaction over  intervals  of  ease,  which,  I  believe,  few 
enjoyments  exceed.  —  Paley. 

Ability  is  active  power.  —  Noah  Webster. 

Ability  is  a  poor  man's  wealth.  —  M.  Wren. 

Do  not  feel  'too  much  joy  at  your  ability.  —  Tsang. 

Ability  for  stupendous  toil  is  lodged  in  every  human 
spirit,  a  grand  gift  from  the  God  of  nature  ;  but  only  the 
persevering  worker  knows  what  this  latent  power  is  able 
to  achieve.  —  Magoon. 


386  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS    GIRLS. 

Not  all  are  gifted  with  the  power  to  execute  even  the 
commonest  work  with  high  efficiency  ;  but  all  may  be 
trained  to  such  a  measure  of  skill  in  the  use  of  their 
hands  as  shall  make  their  work  not  worthless  in  the 
general  sum,  and  a  thing  to  be  given  in  honest  exchange 
for  the  means  of  life.  —  Emily  Ffeiffer. 

Although  the  general  public  has  become  well  acquainted 
with  the  woman  physician,  it  still  lifts  its  eyebrows  in 
surprise  when  it  comes  in  contact  with  her  younger  sis- 
ter, the  woman  dentist.  Nevertheless,  the  latter  has 
arrived,  and  bids  fair  to  rival  her  elder  sister  in  the 
success  of  her  career.  —  Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

Upward  of  twenty-five  years  ago  Prof.  C.  N.  Peirce, 
dean  of  the  Pennsylvania  College  of  Dental  Surgery, 
after  a  well-fought  battle  with  his  colleagues,  succeeded 
in  throwing  open  the  doors  of  his  college  to  women. 
Since  that  time  other  dental  colleges  have  opened  their 
doors,  and  women  are  received  into  their  classes.  — 
Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

Without  a  doubt  this  profession  is  one  peculiarly 
adapted  to  the  woman's  sphere.  —  Margarita  A.  Stewart, 
M.D. 

It  is  work  that  can  be  done  in  her  own  home,  may  be 
confined  within  regular  hours,  and  its  field  of  operation 
is  largely  devoted  to  women.  Surely  the  peculiar  graces 
of  womanhood  must  come  to  be  appreciated  here,  if  any- 
where ;  the  sympathetic  nature,  the  gentle  touch,  and, 
withal,  the  kindly  word  of  encouragement. —  Margarita 
A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

The  dental  chair,  as  we  all  know,  is  in  the  majority  of 


THE  DENTIST'S   OPPORTUNITY.  337 

minds  the  synonym  for  torture,  because  to  do  good  work 
and  render  efficient  service  it  has  been  necessary  to 
inflict  pain.  But  the  days  of  painful  surgical  operations 
are  past ;  and  the  greatest  boon  which  has  come  to  suffer- 
ing humanity  within  this  century,  and  which  has  made 
the  triumphs  of  modern  surgery  possible,  —  anaesthetic, 

—  was  brought  to  it  through  the  dental  profession  by 
the  efforts  of  a  dentist  to  overcome  the  pain  incident  to 
the  extracting  of  teeth.  — Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

Dentistry,  as  the  profession  is  now  known  to  be,  is 
distinctly  of  American  birth,  and  is  yet  in  its  infancy. 
It  is  only  a  little  more  than  fifty  years  since  the  first 
dental  college  in  the  world  was  founded  at  Baltimore. 
Since  that  time  there  has  grown  a  vast  system  of  colleges, 
embracing  the  civilized  world,  and  there  has  developed 
a  literature  of  no  mean  proportions  in  the  way  of  text- 
books and  scientific  treatises  on  dental  subjects,  together 
with  a  current  literature  of  upward  of  thirty  periodicals 
devoted  exclusively  to  the  interests  of  the  profession. 

—  Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

With  the  march  of  civilization  the  teeth  of  the  human 
race  are  yielding  to  the  general  neurotic  tendency  so  mani- 
fest on  every  side.  Already  the  question  is  being  asked 
by  thoughtful  observers,  "  Are  we  to  become  a  toothless 
race  ?'"  Here  in  our  beloved  America  we  see  the  most 
rapid  degeneration  of  our  beautiful  teeth,  which  contrib- 
ute more  than  any  other  feature  to  the  health  of  the 
human  organism.  —  Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

As  the  generations  pass,  the  bad  heredity  contingent 
upon  ignorance  is  augmenting  the  deadly  work  of  tooth- 
destruction.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  if  we  would  do  effective 
work  in  reform,  we  must  begin,  as  the  late  Dr.  Oliver 


338  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Wendell  Holmes  so  wisely  said,  with  the  grandparents. 
The  children  of  to-day  are  the  grandparents  of  the 
future.  An  enlightened  public  spirit  has  introduced 
hygiene  and  physiology  into  the  curriculum  of  the  public 
schools.  —  Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

A  course  in  hygiene  and  physiology  in  their  practical 
application  to  the  care  of  the  teeth  would  be  of  inestima- 
ble value  to  the  wards  of  the  nation,  and  its  effect  would 
be  seen  in  the  marked  improvement  of  a  condition  which 
is  to-day  our  characteristic  national  physical  defect  — 
bad  teeth.  —  Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

Woman  is  the  natural  educator  of  the  race,  and  surely 
this  field  is  one  that  may  well  engage  the  attention  of 
woman  ambitious  for  a  distinguished  professional  career. 
If  she  possesses  the  necessary  qualifications  for  success 
in  any  calling — the  capacity  for  conscientious,  pains- 
taking work  and  a  steady  purpose  —  there  is  no  profes- 
sion that  offers  more  promising  prospects  for  a  woman 
than  dentistry,  not  even  the  more  popular  one  of  medi- 
cine. On  the  other  hand,  it  is  said  that  of  the  seventeen 
thousand  dentists  in  the  United  States  many  cannot 
make  their  profession  profitable,  while  the  dental  work 
that  needs  to  be  done  would  keep  fifty  thousand  dentists 
comfortably  employed.  This  means  that  the  activity  of 
dental  colleges  in  educating  dentists  has  run  far  ahead  of 
the  education  of  the  people  in  the  importance  of  caring 
for  their  teeth.  —  Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

Although  it  is  the  infant  among  the  professions,  dentis- 
try is  keeping  pace  with  the  more  ancient  callings,  and  is 
steadily  demanding  higher  standards  in  preliminary  edu- 
cation, as  well  as  more  time  for  the  thorough  training 


THE  DENTIST'S   OPPORTUNITY.  339 

and  education  of  its  students  in  the  special  requirements 
of  the  profession.  — Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

The  time  required  to  complete  the  course  of  study  is 
three  years,  and  the  fee  for  the  entire  course  amounts  to 
about  $500.  This  does  not  include  the  text-books,  which 
would  cost  about  from  $15  to  $25.  The  instruments  ab- 
solutely essential  for  school  work  can  be  obtained  for 
about  $50.  However,  if  the  bank  account  will  bear  the 
strain  of  an  additional  $50  the  increased  facility  for 
satisfactory  infirmatory  and  laboratory  work  would  be 
well  worth  the  outlay,  and  in  the  end  the  student  would  be 
in  possession  of  a  partial  outfit  for  office  work.  An  addi- 
tional outlay  of  say  $300  will  fully  equip  an  office  and 
laboratory  for  the  practice  of  dentistry.  It  might  be 
done  for  something  less,  the  difference  depending  upon 
the  amount  of  money  invested  in  a  chair,  which  costs 
from  $75  to  $175.  —  Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

The  investment  of  something  less  than  $1,000  in 
money  and  three  years  of  time  puts  into  a  woman's 
power  the  skill  for  handling  a  specialty  in  which  there 
will  be  a  continual  growing  demand  for  service.  How 
fast  it  will  turn  her  way  will  depend  upon  her  ability  to 
attract  and  hold  a  clientele.  Nevertheless,  in  the  end 
she  will  be  sure  to  have  a  competency  if  she  continues 
faithful  in  well-doing.  — Margarita  A.  Stewart,  M.D. 

Common  sense  is  nature's  gift,  but  reason  is  an  art.  — 
Beattie. 

Give  me  the  comforts  of  God,  and  I  can  well  bear  the 
taunts  of  men.  —  Spurgeon. 

The  integrity  of  men  is  to  be  measured  by  their  con- 
duct, not  by  their  professions.  —  Junius. 


340  HELPS   FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

It  is  not  enough  that  you  form  the  most  excellent 
rules  for  conducting  yourself }  you  must  also  know  when 
to  deviate  from  them,  and  where  lies  the  exception.  — 
Lord  Greville. 

To  betray  a  confidence  is  to  make  yourself  despicable ; 
many  things  are  said  among  friends  which  are  not  said 
under  a  seal  of  secrecy,  but  are  understood  to  be  con- 
fidential, and  a  truly  honorable  man  will  never  violate 
this  tacit  confidence.  —  D.  Hartley. 

A  man's  own  conscience  is  his  sole  tribunal,  and  he 
should  care  no  more  for  that  phantom  "  opinion  n  than 
he  should  fear  meeting  a  ghost  if  he  crossed  the  church- 
yard at  dark.  —  Bulwer. 

Consider  before  you  speak  when  the  business  is  of 
moment;  weigh  the  sense  of  what  you  mean  to  utter, 
and  the  expressions  you  intend  to  use,  that  they  may 
be  significant,  pertinent,  and  inoffensive.  —  Sir  Matthew 
Hale. 

Contempt  is  not  a  thing  to  be  despised;  it  may  be 
borne  with  a  calm  and  equal  mind,  but  no  man,  by  lifting 
his  head  high,  can  pretend  that  he  does  not  perceive  the 
scorns  that  are  poured  down  upon  him  from  above.  — 
Burke. 

Conversation  is  the  daughter  of  reasoning,  the  mother 
of  knowledge,  the  breath  of  the  soul,  the  commerce  of 
hearts,  the  bond  of  friendship,  the  nourishment  of  con- 
tent, and  the  occupation  of  men  of  wit.  —  Carcano. 

The  human  countenance  never  lies  ;  if  read  aright  it 
always  presents  the  real  index  of  the  mind.  —  Mrs.  S. 
Moodie. 


WOMAN  IN  POLITICS.  341 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 


WOMAN    IN    POLITICS. 


"  It  is  a  maxim  that  those  to  whom  everybody  allows  the  second  place 
have  an  undoubted  title  to  the  first."  —  Swift. 

There  is  a  vast  difference  between  woman  in  politics 
and  woman  as  a  professional  politician.  The  moment 
that  woman  can  vote  she  is  in  a  sense  "  in  politics,"  but 
it  does  not  follow  in  her  case,  any  more  than  in  the  case 
of  men,  that  that  right  is  to  lead  her  on  to  taking  up 
politics  as  a  profession.  It  is  not  with  any  idea  of  your 
looking  to  politics  for  a  living,  but  solely  to  help  you 
see  what  is  gradually  but  surely  coming  for  women  in 
the  conduct  of  the  government  of  this  country,  that  I 
insert  this  brief  chapter  on  the  "  Woman  in  Politics  "  — 
that  is,  in  citizenship. 

Do  you  know  the  difference  between  common  law  and 
statute  law  ?  Common  law  is  custom  from  time  im- 
memorial, coining  to  us  in  general  from  our  English 
forefathers.  Statute  law,  which  is  powerful  enough  to 
change  or  do  away  with  common  law,  is  made  for  us  by 
our  representatives  in  the  State  Legislatures.  Up  to 
the  year  1840,  when  your  grandmother,  perhaps,  was  a 
young  girl,  the  status  of  women  in  every  State  of  the 
Union,  except  Louisiana,  was  governed  by  the  old  com- 
mon law,  under  which  a  woman  was  hardly  more  than  a 
chattel.  Her  husband  could  not  sell  her,  but  he  could 
whip  her  if  he  was  brute  enough,  or  turn  her  out  of  the 
home  that  she  had  helped  to  make.  Her  property  was 
his,  and  could  be    seized  by  his  creditors,  even  to  the 


342  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

clothes  she  wore.  If  she  worked  her  wages  belonged  to 
him.  The  children  were  his,  and  he  could  take  them 
away  from  her.  That  was  the  common  law  under  which 
the  saintly  Puritans  and  all  our  other  ancestors  lived, 
and  it  is  enough  almost  to  make  us  wonder,  in  these  bet- 
ter days,  that  any  women  then  had  the  hardihood  to 
marry.     But  they  did. 

It  was  this  dreadful  state  of  affairs  that  indirectly 
brought  about  the  demand  for  woman's  suffrage.  The 
demand  for  at  least  human  treatment  under  the  law  led 
on  naturally  to  the  further  demand  for  the  right  to 
vote.  The  idea  was  ridiculed  at  first,  as  most  great  re- 
forms are;  but  many  of  the  States  began  the  reform  by 
giving  married  women  the  right  to  own  property ;  and 
now,  only  fifty-two  years  after  the  holding  of  the  first 
Woman's  Rights  Convention,  in  Seneca  Falls,  K.Y., — 
now,  in  1900,  there  are  four  States  in  which  women 
have  the  same  voting  rights  as  men,  and  many  others 
in  which  they  can  vote  at  school  and  municipal  elections. 
Wyoming  gave  women  the  full  right  of  the  ballot  in 
1870,  Colorado  in  1893,  Utah  in  1895,  and  Idaho  in 
1896.  The  able  women  who  have  largely  brought  this 
about  are  many,  and  one  of  them  has  kindly  made  out 
for  me  a  long  list  of  names  of  the  leaders  in  various 
States ;  but  their  reputations  need  no  gilding,  and  as  this 
is  a  matter  of  principles  rather  than  of  persons,  I  leave 
you  to  find  some  of  their  names  almost  any  day  in  the 
newspapers. 

So  here  are  four  States  that  give  women  the  same 
voting  rights  as  men.  In  more  than  a  score  of  other 
States,  States  in  every  section  of  the  country,  women 
now  have  the  right  to  vote  at  school  elections.  That  looks 
like  a  small  matter,  but  it  is  really  a  very  large  matter. 
It  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  It  is  the  entering  wedge. 
When  woman  can  vote  at  all  she  will  soon  have  the  right 


WOMAN  IN  POLITICS.  343 

to  vote  on  every  question,  on  the  same  terms  as  men. 
The  States  in  which  women  now  have  the  right  to  vote 
for  school  trustees  and  school  appropriations  are  Arizona, 
Connecticut,  Delaware,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kentucky, 
Massachusetts,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  Montana,  Nebraska, 
New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  North  Dakota,  Ohio,  Okla- 
homa, Oregon,  South  Dakota,  Texas,  Vermont,  Washing- 
ton, and  Wisconsin ;  and  in  Kansas  women  have  munici- 
pal suffrage.  There  is  more  than  half  the  Union  giving 
some  voting  rights  to  women,  with  every  indication  that 
the  other  half  will  soon  follow,  and  that  the  partial  right 
will  soon  become  a  whole  right. 

The  National  Woman's  Suffrage  Association  has  more 
than  10,000  paying  members,  besides  a  few,  I  regret  to  say, 
who  forget  to  pay  their  dues.  The  National  Woman's 
Christian  Temperance  Union,  which  is  also  working  for 
complete  suffrage,  has  400,000  paying  members,  besides 
400,000  more  who  forget  to  pay,  or  have  changed  their 
residences.  Petitions  presented  in  fourteen  States  in 
favor  of  woman's  suffrage  bore  1,600,000  signatures,  of 
which  850,000  were  names  of  women  and  750,000  were 
names  of  men;  so  the  women,  you  see,  are  not  fighting 
this  battle  entirely  unaided.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
male  Anti-Suffrage  Association  in  Boston  has  a  member- 
ship of  about  100 ;  and  the  society  of  women  called  the 
"  Association  Opposed  to  the  Extension  of  Suffrage  to 
Women"  has  4,500  members. 

It  is  fairly  admitted  that  in  the  four  States  in  which 
women  have  the  full  right  of  suffrage  they  have  raised 
the  standard  of  moral  character  of  candidates.  No 
saloon-keeper,  dive-keeper,  or  notorious  rogue  can  readily 
be  elected  to  any  office  by  any  party  in  any  of  those 
States.  Can  we  say  as  much  of  New  York,  or  New 
Jersey,  or  indeed  of  any  other  State  ? 

Women  of  another  generation  have  sown  the  seed  and 


344  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

have  done  a  considerable  portion  of  the  harvesting,  and 
what  remains  for  you  is  to  inform  yourself  of  public 
affairs,  so  that  when  your  voting-time  comes  you  can 
vote  intelligently.  It  is  not  intelligent  people,  usually, 
who  are  controlled  by  scheming  politicians,  but  ignorant 
people.  An  ignorant  woman  voter  is  just  as  bad  as  an 
ignorant  male  voter.  An  able  politician  can  make  an 
ignorant  voter  believe  that  black  is  white.  Do  not  you 
be  the  ignorant  voter,  but  prepare  yourself  for  the  right 
and  privilege,  so  that  when  the  time  comes  you  will  know 
always  whom  and  what  you  are  voting  for,  and  why. 

Censure  is  the  tax  a  man  pays  to  the  public  for  being  eminent.  — 
Swift. 


THE  POLITICAL  FIELD,  345 


CHAPTEK   XXVIII. 

THE    POLITICAL    FIELD. 

It  is  often  asserted  that,  as  woman  has  always  been 
man's  slave,  subject,  inferior,  dependent,  under  all  forms 
of  government  and  religion,  slavery  must  be  her  normal 
condition ;  but  that  her  condition  is  abnormal  is  proved 
by  the  marvellous  change  in  her  character,  from  a  toy  in 
the  Turkish  harem,  or  a  drudge  in  the  German  fields,  to 
a  leader  of  thought  in  the  literary  circles  of  France, 
England,  and  America.  —  "History  of  Woman  Suffrage." 

No  authors  draw  upon  themselves  more  displeasure 
than  those  who  deal  in  political  matters,  which  is  justly 
incurred,  considering  that  spirit  of  rancor  and  virulence 
with  which  works  of  this  nature  abound.  —  Addison. 

The  violation  of  party  faith  is  of  itself  too  common  to 
excite  surprise  or  indignation.  Political  friendships  are 
so  well  understood  that  we  can  hardly  pity  the  simplicity 
they  deceive.  —  Junius. 

Possession  of  the  elective  franchise  is  a  symbol  of 
power  in  man's  hand ;  why  should  it  not  bear  the  same 
relation  to  woman's  upward  impulse  and  action  ?  — 
Helen  K.  Johnson. 

How  absolute  is  the  dividing  line  between  woman's 
progress  and  woman  suffrage  we  may  realize  when  we 
consider  what  the  result  would  be  if  we  could  know  to- 


346  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS    GIBLS. 

morrow,  beyond  a  peradventure,  that  woman  never  would 
vote  in  the  United  States.  Not  one  of  her  charities, 
great  or  small,  would  be  crippled.  —  Helen  K.  Johnson. 

Woman's  political  equality  with  man  is  the  legitimate 
outgrowth  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  our  govern- 
ment. —  "History  of  Woman  Suffrage." 

Never,  until  the  establishment  of  universal  [male]  suf- 
frage did  it  happen  that  all  the  women  in  a  community, 
no  matter  how  well-born,  how  intelligent,  how  well  edu- 
cated, how  virtuous,  how  wealthy,  were  counted  the 
political  inferiors  of  all  the  men  —  no  matter  how  base- 
born,  how  stupid,  how  ignorant,  how  brutal,  how  poverty 
stricken ;  women  have  never  been,  subjected  to  the 
political  sovereignty  of  all  men,  simply  in  virtue  of  their 
sex,  since  the  days  of  the  ancient  republics.  —  Dr.  Mary 
Putnam  Jacobi. 

Shall  we,  as  a  people,  be  true  to  our  principles  and  en- 
franchise woman  ?  or  shall  we  drift  along  in  the  meanest 
form  of  oligarchy  known  among  men  —  an  oligarchy 
which  exalts  every  sort  of  a  male  into  a  ruler  simply  be- 
cause he  is  a  male,  and  debases  every  woman  into  a  sub- 
ject simply  because  she  is  a  woman  ?  —  Ellen  B.  Dietrick. 

I  believe  woman  suffrage  to  be  the  final  result  of  the 
evolution  of  a  true  democracy.  —  Fanny  B.  Ames. 

The  ideal  woman  of  Greece  was  Athena,  patroness  of 
all  household  arts  and  industries,  but  equally  patroness 
of  all  political  interests.  The  greatest  city  of  Greece 
was  believed  to  have  been  founded  by  her,  and  Greek 
history  recorded  that,  though  the  men  citizens  voted 
solidly   to  have  the  city  named  for   Neptune,    yet   the 


THE  POLITICAL   FIELD.  347 

women  citizens  voted  solidly  for  Athena,  beat  them  by 
one  vote,  and  carried  that  political  matter.  If  physical 
force  had  been  a  governing  power  in  Greece,  and  men  its 
manifestation,  how  could  such  a  story  have  been  pub- 
lished by  Greek  men  down  to  the  second  century  before 
our  era  ?  —  Ellen  B.  Dietrich. 

It  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  to  some  writers 
one  of  the  most  perplexing  facts  in  the  moral  history  of 
Greece  that  in  the  former  and  ruder  period  women  had 
undoubtedly  the  highest  place,  and  their  type  exhibited 
the  highest  perfection.  — Lecky. 

But  be  it  ours  to  guard  the  hallowed  spot, 
To  shield  the  tender  offspring  and  the  wife ; 

Here  steadily  await  our  destined  lot, 

And,  for  their  sakes,  resign  the  gift  of  life. 

Tyrtceus. 

A  woman  suffrage  bill  of  many  years'  standing  and 
absurd  provisions  passed  to  a  second  reading  in  the 
[English]  House  of  Commons.  Although  it  was  treated 
as  a  joke  by  all  parties,  it  served  to  emphasize  the  fact 
that  Sir  Vernon  Harcourt  and  the  Liberals  are  opposed 
to  any  advance  in  this  direction.  —  Helen  K.  Johnson. 

The  countries  where  woman  has  full  suffrage  (save  in 
the  United  States)  are  all  dependencies  of  royalty  ;  they 
are :  The  Isle  of  Man,  Pitcairn's  Island,  New  Zealand, 
and  South  Australia.  The  most  important  of  these,  New 
Zealand,  was  once  a  promising  colony,  but  it  has  been 
declining  for  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  men  outnum- 
ber the  women  by  forty  thousand.  —  Helen  K.  Johnson. 

Political  life  is  a  tissue  of  absurdities.  —  R.  Cobden. 


348  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Politics  resembles  religion ;  attempting  to  divest  either 
of  ceremony  is  the  most  certain  mode  of  bringing  either 
into  contempt.  —  Goldsmith. 

It  is  not  pmdence  to  make  politics  a  profession ;  the 
business  is  overstocked,  the  field  is  overrun  with  weeds ; 
if  you  enter  the  arena  take  a  pick-axe  and  pruning-hook 
with  you.  The  Augean  stable  needs  cleansing ;  if  you 
are  a  Hercules  go  ahead.  —  W.  Cobbett. 

The  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  mankind  and  the 
increase  of  human  happiness  ought  to  be  the  leading  ob- 
jects of  every  political  institution,  and  the  aim  of  every 
individual,  according  to  the  measure  of  his  power  in  the 
situation  he  occupies.  —  Alexander  Hamilton. 

A  politician  thinks  of  the  next  election ;  a  statesman 
of  the  next  generation.  A  politician  looks  for  the  suc- 
cess of  his  party  ;  a  statesman  for  that  of  the  country. 
The  statesman  wishes  to  steer,  while  the  politician  is 
satisfied  to  drift.  —  A.  Clarke. 

One  more  proof  that  the  vote  is  not  the  real  power, 
but  only  its  insignia,  lies  in  the  fact  that  legislation  has 
not  been  able  to  put  an  end  to  strikes  and  riots.  Unless 
mental  power  can  command  physical,  there  is  no  way  in 
which  mental  power  can  enforce  its  decrees  in  govern- 
ment. —  Helen  K.  Johnson. 

We  fully  believed  as  soon  as  we  saw  that  woman's 
suffrage  was  right  that  every  one  else  would  soon  see 
the  same  thing,  and  that  in  a  year  or  two,  at  farthest,  it 
would  be  granted.  —  Antoinette  Blackwell. 

To-day  a  fine  and  certainly  widely-diffused  scorn  pre- 


THE  POLITICAL   FIELD.  349 

vails  for  doctrines  of  abstract  Rights  and  of  claims  based 
on  them.  Yet  how  can  a  demand  for  Rights  ever  be 
formulated  except  abstractly  ? — Dr.  Mary  Putnam  Jac- 
obi. 

The  woman's  movement  began,  therefore,  with  that  for 
the  slave,  in  one  common  fact,  —  a  suddenly  awakened 
but  profound  distrust  of  all  authority. —  Dr.  Mary  Put- 
nam  Jacobi. 

Then  the  question  rose,  —  ah,  mighty  is  the  age 
which  asks  a  question  !  —  By  what  right  did  those  who 
had  the  power  impose  restrictions  on  those  who  had 
not  ?  Who  authorized  them  ?  Why  should  Federal 
troops  be  employed  to  chase  runaway  slaves  in  the 
streets  of  Boston  ?  Why  should  clergymen  in  the  pulpit 
be  engaged  to  prescribe,  with  all  the  thunders  of  Sinai, 
what  the  free  white  women  of  America  should  or  should 
not  do  ?  —  Dr.  Mary  Putnam  Jacobi. 

The  entrance  of  women  into  the  industrial  field  was 
assured,  when,  between  1760  and  1770,  the  factory  system 
of  labor  displaced  the  hand-labor  system. —  Carroll  D. 
Wright. 

For  the  better  protection  of  woman  the  husband  was 
forbidden  to  chastise  his  wife  with  a  stick  bigger  than 
his  own  thumb. —  Dr.  Mary  Putnam  Jacobi. 

It  was  in  the  winter  of  1848  —  the  winter  immediately 
following  the  Seneca  Falls  Convention  —  that  the  first 
steps  were  taken  in  that  series  of  legislative  enactments 
which  has  finally  placed  the  women  of  the  State  of  New 
York  on  a  full  legal  equality  with  men.  In  a  word, 
woman  has  become  an  equal  person  in  her  own  family, 
and  joint  ruler  in  her  own  house. —  Dr.  Mary  Putnam 
Jacobi. 


350  HELPS  FOB   AMBITIOUS  GIBLS. 

Let  us  sum  up  South  Dakota.  The  total  vote  was 
70,000,  of  whom  30,000  were  foreigners,  —  Scandinavians, 
Swedes,  Norwegians,  Russians, — all  classes.  Of  the 
American-born  men,  24,000  voted  "  yes  "  [for  the  woman- 
suffrage  amendment]  and  16,000  voted  "no."  But  the 
30,000  foreigners'  vote  was  added  to  the  16,000,  and  that 
made  a  tremendous  majority  against  us. —  Susan  B. 
Anthony.     (1894.) 

Women  are  not  necessarily  so  inexperienced  that  their 
advice  would  always  be  an  intrusion. — Dr.  Mary  Putnam 
Jacobi. 

Woman  suffrage  aims  at  such  a  sexual  revolution  as 
must  cause  the  dissolution  of  the  family. —  Goldwin 
Smith.  The  suffrage  claim  does  not  aim  at  this ;  it  seeks 
only  to  formulate,  recognize,  and  define  the  revolution 
already  effected,  yet  which  leaves  the  family  intact. — 
Dr.  Mary  Putnam  Jacobi. 

Educated  women  desire  that  woman  should  do  all  that 
strength  and  time  allow  in  the  care  of  the  public  schools. 
The  school  suffrage  ought  to  be  a  boon  for  them.  But  it 
does  not,  so  far,  look  as  if  women  could  make  it  so. — 
Helen  K.  Johnson. 

For  as  the  woman  is  of  the  man,  so  is  the  man  also  of 
the  woman  ;  but  all  things  are  of  God. — St.  Paul. 

The  word  "  obey "  in  some  marriage  services  seems 
like  what  it  really  is,  a  survival.  Obedience  has  brought 
its  reward,  and  the  consent  of  the  heart  is  more  than  the 
consent  of  the  lips.  But  if  there  is  no  consent  of  the 
heart  to  wifehood  and  motherhood,  in  time  there  will  be 
no  chivalry,  no  progress,  no  final  emancipation  for  the 
race. —  Helen  K.  Johnson. 


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MRS.    BALLINGTON    BOOTH. 


WOMAN  IN   THE  PULPIT.  351 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 


WOMAN    IN    THE    PULPIT. 


"  Truth  is  the  brightest  emanation  from  the  Gospel ;  it  is  the  attribute 
of  God."  —  Sydney  Smith. 

The  pulpit  has  offered  more  opposition  to  the  admis- 
sion of  woman  than  any  other  profession  ;  and  yet  there 
have  been  woman  preachers  from  time  immemorial,  and 
in  recent  years  many  women  preachers  have  been  reg- 
ularly ordained. 

The  ministry  stands  apart  from  all  other  professions, 
whether  regarded  by  man  or  woman.  You  cannot,  with 
a  clear  conscience,  go  into  it  as  you  would  study  law  or 
medicine,  with  an  eye  to  the  salary  it  is  to  pay  you,  or 
the  fame  or  fortune  it  is  to  bring.  The  chances  are  that 
it  will  bring  very  little  of  either,  but  that  should  be  no 
drawback,  if  you  really  have  a  "  call  "  to  preach.  Just 
what  an  authoritative  call  is,  is  not  easy  to  explain,  and 
yet  you  know  what  it  is  without  any  explanation.  It  is, 
for  one  thing,  the  feeling,  the  intense  feeling,  that  the 
world  is  full  of  souls  to  be  saved,  and  that  you  were 
created  for  the  express  purpose  of  helping  to  save  them. 
If  you  have  not  that  feeling,  or  if  you  find  yourself  cal- 
culating about  how  much  it  is  to  pay  you  per  soul,  you 
had  better  stay  out  of  the  ministry.  But  if  you  have  it, 
and  your  heart  is  full  of  love  for  your  fellow-creatures, 
and  you  feel  that  you  have  a  mission,  your  sex  will  not 
deter  you.     And  it  need  neither  deter  nor  discourage  you. 

A  large  number  of  pulpits  in  this  country  are  regu- 
larly   filled  by  ordained  women  preachers,  particularly 


352  HELPS   FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

in  the  Congregational,  the  Baptist,  and  the  Methodist 
churches.  In  the  Congregational  church  alone  there  are 
more  than  thirty  ordained  women  preachers.  The 
Friends,  or  Quakers,  have  always  had  women  in  the  pul- 
pit on  equal  terms  with  men. 

If  you  really  have  this  "  call "  for  the  ministry  (and 
you  must  not  mistake  a  mere  childish  notion  for  the  real 
thing)  it  will  make  itself  manifest  without  any  effort  on 
your  part.  It  is  too  powerful  to  be  kept  down.  It  has 
led  you  before  this  to  take  an  interest  in  your  church 
and  church  work,  in  the  Sunday-school,  in  the  prayer- 
meeting,  and  your  development  into  one  of  the  leaders 
of  the  flock  will  come  about  as  naturally  as  the  bud  ex- 
pands into  a  flower.  From  listening  you  advanced,  or 
will  advance,  to  occasional  speaking  in  the  prayer-meet- 
ing, to  teaching  in  the  Sunday-school,  in  the  Bible  Class; 
and  your  knowledge  of  the  Scriptures,  and  your  love  of 
them,  is  increasing,  or  will  increase,  every  day.  Your 
pastor  takes  an  interest  in  you,  and  advises  you.  Your 
future  calling  is  well  understood  in  your  home.  So 
serious  a  call  should  develop  so  gradually  that  you  hardly 
notice  the  development.  The  sudden  call,  the  inspiration 
of  the  moment,  demands  always  careful  consideration. 
Give  it  time  to  cool,  and  see  what  happens  to  it. 

"  Yet  have  I  not  seen  the  righteous  forsaken,  nor  his 
seed  begging  bread,"  David  asserted,  but  the  assurance 
that  you  shall  escape  beggary  is  not  enough  for  you ; 
you  must  be  ready  to  accept  beggary,  cold,  suffering,  any 
other  trials  the  Master  sends  you.  If  you  have  not  this 
divine  submission  yourself,  how  can  you  teach  it  to 
others  ? 

The  best  education  is  none  too  good  for  the  clergyman 
of  either  sex.  You  cannot  know  too  much,  or  digest 
your  knowledge  too  thoroughly.  A  good  working  ac- 
quaintance with  Greek  and  Hebrew  is  absolutely  indis- 


WOMAN  IN  THE  PULPIT.  353 

pensable,  and  such  an  acquaintance  necessarily  involves 
an  acquaintance  with  Latin  also.  An  ignorant  preacher 
can  do  good  in  some  directions,  but  he  or  she  is  at  a  dis- 
advantage. You  must  give  your  hearers  information  as 
well  as  eloquence,  and  you  cannot  give  it  to  them  unless 
you  have  it.  A  thorough  collegiate  training  is  as  neces- 
sary to  a  woman  preacher  as  to  a  man  preacher,  and  if 
you  are  destined  for  the  pulpit  you  can  obtain  it  at  much 
less  expense  than  if  you  were  preparing  for  any  other 
profession,  for  the  church  assists  its  young  candidates. 
Your  own  pastor  can  give  you  the  best  information  about 
the  assistance  offered  in  your  own  denomination. 

Many  of  the  theological  seminaries,  in  which  the 
special  training  for  the  ministry  is  given  after  the  gen- 
eral education  is  finished,  are  open  to  women  equally 
with  men.  The  differences  in  instruction  in  the  semina- 
ries of  the  different  denominations  are  slight,  and  the 
course  in  one  seminary  gives  an  adequate  idea  of  the 
courses  in  all.  Following  is  the  course  of  instruction 
outlined  in  Oberlin  Theological  Seminary,,  at  Oberlin, 
Ohio,  in  which  both  men  and  women  are  trained  for  the 
ministry : 

OBERLIN  THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY. 

Oberlin  is  situated  on  the  Lake  Shore  and  Michigan  Southern 
Railway,  thirty-four  miles  southwest  of  Cleveland.  It  is  a  pleas- 
ant village  of  four  thousand  three  hundred  inhabitants,  which  has 
grown  up  with  the  College,  and  has  been  largely  shaped  by  its 
influence. 

COUNCIL   HALL. 

The  building  occupied  by  the  Theological  Seminary  is  named 
Council  Hall  in  commemoration  of  the  first  meeting  of  the  National 
Congregational  Council,  in  Oberlin,  in  November,  1871,  on  which 
occasion  the  corner-stone  was  laid.  It  provides  rooms  for  sixty 
students,  half  of  whom  may  room  singly.  Each  suite  of  rooms 
consists  of  study  and  bedroom,  separated  by  folding  doors.     They 


354  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

are  completely  and  comfortably  furnished,  and  heated  with  hot 
water.  All  rooms  must  be  claimed  in  person  or  by  letter  addressed 
to  Prof.  A.  T.  Swing,  by  noon  of  the  day  before  the  opening  of 
the  fall  semester. 

Churches  that  hare  furnished  and  named  any  of  these  rooms 
will  have  the  privilege  of  reserving  them,  upon  due  notice  given, 
for  the  use  of  any  of  their  members  who  are,  or  who  are  to  be, 
students  in  the  Seminary. 

LIBRARIES    AND    READING-ROOMS. 

The  libraries  connected  with  the  College  number  more  than  fifty 
thousand  volumes,  of  which  fifteen  thousand  would  be  required  in 
a  well-equipped  theological  library. 

THE    SEMINARY   YEAR. 

The  Seminary  year  of  thirty-two  weeks  is  divided  into  two  semes- 
ters by  the  Christmas  vacation  of  a  fortnight. 

The  Faculty  will  meet  the  new  students  and  any  others  who  may 
wish  to  consult  them  in  Council  Hall,  Wednesday,  the  opening  day 
of  the  year. 

EXPENSES    AND    BENEFICIARY   AID. 

No  charge  is  made  for  instruction,  or  for  the  use  of  the  library 
and  other  public  rooms.  The  price  of  board  ranges  from  $2  to  $3 
per  week.  The  term  bills  for  students  rooming  in  Council  Hall 
vary  according  to  the  number  of  occupants  in  a  room,  whether  one 
or  two.  For  the  first  semester  of  fourteen  weeks  the  fee  is  from 
$13  to  $14,  and  for  the  second  semester  of  eighteen  Aveeks 
from  $14  to  $18.  For  those  rooming  elsewhere  the  fee  for  each 
semester  is  $3.  These  semester  fees  are  due  not  later  than  the 
opening  day  of  the  semester. 

There  are  several  sources  from  which  needy  and  worthy  stu- 
dents may  receive  financial  assistance.  (1)  The  Congregational 
Education  Society  has  given  not  less  than  $50  per  year  to  each  of 
its  beneficiaries.  (2)  Funds  have  been  placed  at  the  disposal  of 
the  Faculty  by  benevolent  friends  of  the  Seminary  from  which 
twelve  merit  scholarships  have  been  provided  as  follows  :  four 
scholarships  of  $100  each,  four  scholarships  of  $75  each,  and  four 
scholarships  of  $50  each.  These  may  be  earned  by  exceptional 
scholarship  and  unusual  promise  for  the  ministry.  (3)  Beneficiary 
aid    (to   be   returned   within  five   years,    without  interest   during 


WOMAN  IN  THE  PULPIT.  355 

Seminary  study)  can  generally  be  obtained  in  sums  of  from  $25 
up  to  $75  per  year.  (4)  Advanced  students  have  frequent  oppor- 
tunities to  supply  churches  giving  moderate  compensation  for  such 
services. 

In  view  of  such  assistance,  together  with  the  low  cost  of  living 
in  Oberlin,  it  may  be  safely  said  that  all  earnest  students  giving 
promise  of  usefulness  in  the  ministry  need  have  no  hesitancy,  for 
financial  reasons,  in  planning  to  undertake  a  full  course  of  study 
in  the  Seminary. 

The  first  instalment  of  aid  from  Seminary  funds  is  withheld 
until  the  satisfactory  completion  of  a  probation  of  one  semester, 
except  in  the  case  of  students  received  ad  eundem  from  other 
seminaries. 

Pecuniary  aid  is  not  given  to  students  who  marry  during  their 
connection  with  the  Seminary. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  comparatively  low  cost  of  living  in 
Oberlin,  which  renders  the  student  less  dependent  than  he  would 
be  elsewhere  upon  beneficiary  aid.  While  no  candidate  for  the 
ministry,  however  self-reliant  he  may  wish  to  be,  should  hesitate 
to  accept  such  appropriations  as  he  really  needs  to  enable  him  to 
obtain  the  best  possible  preparation  for  his  future  work,  yet  it  will 
afford  him  legitimate  satisfaction  to  know  that  his  education  im- 
poses on  others  the  least  possible  cost. 

SCHOLARSHIPS. 

The  Seminary  has  the  following  scholarships  for  the  assistance 
of  students.  Additional  scholarships  are  greatly  needed.  The 
friends  of  ministerial  education  are  earnestly  urged  to  contribute 
for  this  object. 

Jennie  M.  Rosseter  Scholarship,  §1,500  —  Founded  by  Mrs. 
Caroline  H.  Rosseter,  of  Great  Barrington,  Mass. 

John  Morgan  Scholarship,  §1,000  —  Founded  by  Mr.  William 
Hyde,  of  Ware,  Mass. 

Butler  Scholarship,  §1,000  —  Founded  by  Miss  Mahala  Butler, 
of  Winchendon,  Mass. 

Painesville  Scholarship,  §1,000  —  Founded  by  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Painesville,  Ohio. 

Lemuel  E.  Brooks  Scholarship,  §5,000  —  Founded  by  Miss 
Harriet  E.  Brooks,  of  Churchville,  N.Y.,  in  memory  of  her 
father,  Rev.  Lemuel  E.  Brooks,  M  to  aid  needy  and  deserving 
students  preparing  for  the  ministry." 


356  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Finney  Scholarship,  §1,250  —  Founded  by  Miss  Caroline  Phelps 
Stokes,  of  New  York  City,  for  a  colored  student  preparing  for 
missionary  work  in  Africa. 

Sandusky  Scholarship,  §1,000  —  Founded  by  the  Congrega- 
tional Church  of  Sandusky,  Ohio. 

Miami  Conference  Scholarship,  §1,000  —  Founded  by  the 
churches  of  the  Miami  Conference  of  Ohio. 

Tracy  Scholarship,  §1,250  —  Founded  by  Mrs.  F.  E.  Tracy,  of 
Mansfield,  Ohio. 

Leroy  II.  Cowles  Scholarship,  §1,250  —  Founded  by  Mr.  J.  G. 
W.  Cowles,  of  Cleveland,  in  memory  of  his  son,  Leroy  Hervey 
Cowles. 

McCord- Gibson  Scholarship,  §1,000 —  Originated  in  bequests. 

Anson  G.  Phelps  Scholarship,  §1,000  —  Founded  by  Miss  Olivia 
E.  P.  Stokes,  preference  being  given  to  colored  students. 

Oberlin  Second  Church  Scholarship,  §1,000  —  Founded  by  the 
Second  Congregational  Church  of  Oberlin. 

Oberlin  First  Church  Scholarship,  §1,000 — Founded  by  the 
First  Congregational  Church  of  Oberlin. 

OPPORTUNITY    FOR    SELF-HELP. 

Many  vacant  pulpits  in  the  vicinity  are  supplied  by  students. 
Opportunities  for  preaching  are  sufficiently  numerous.  In  many 
instances  students  are  tempted  to  consume  in  preaching,  time  and 
strength  that  should  be  devoted  to  their  theological  studies.  No 
member  of  the  Junior  class  will  be  expected  to  supply  pulpits,  even 
occasionally,  during  term  time,  without  permission  of  the  Faculty  ; 
and  no  members  of  the  Middle  class,  without  similar  permission, 
may  assume  the  stated  and  regular  supply  of  any  church. 

During  the  summer  vacation  of  four  months,  all  members  of  the 
Seminary  may  supply  vacant  pulpits  in  Home  Missionary  and  other 
fields.  Opportunities  for  such  service  are  likely  to  be  offered  in 
Ohio  and  the  Northwestern  States,  affording  not  only  useful  experi- 
ence in  pastoral  work,  but  also  essential  addition  to  the  student's 
pecuniary  resources. 

INSTRUCTION    IN    VOCAL    MUSIC. 

The  best  of  facilities  for  musical  cultivation  are  offered  in  the 
Oberlin  Conservatory.  The  presence  of  both  young  women  and 
young  men  in  the  College  renders  possible  such  choruses  as  are  else- 


WOMAN  IN   THE  PULPIT.  357 

where  found  only  in  large  cities.  There  are  large  choirs  in  the 
churches  ;  there  are  classes  in  choral  singing  free  to  all  members  of 
the  Seminary;  the  Musical  Union,  numbering  about  two  hundred 
voices,  holds  weekly  rehearsals  and  gives  two  oratorio  concerts  each 
year.  Special  attention  is  paid  to  church  music,  and  such  instruction 
and  practice  given  as  will  prepare  ministers  to  lead  the  singing  in 
social  meetings  and  render  them  capable  of  dealing  intelligently 
with  those  in  our  churches  who  are  responsible  for  the  service  of 
song. 

GENERAL    EXERCISES. 

The  students  of  all  departments  meet  for  prayers  in  the  College 
Chapel,  Mondays,  Tuesdays,  Wednesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Fridays, 
at  4.30  P.M. ;  except  that  once  each  month,  on  Thursday,  at  4 
P.M.,  in  the  same  place,  a  lecture  is  delivered  by  a  member  of  the 
Faculty,  or  by  some  invited  speaker  from  abroad. 

The  Seminary  prayer-meeting  is  held  each  Friday  afternoon  from 
3.45  to  4.30,  in  the  chapel  of  Council  Hall.  Once  a  month  the 
prayer-meeting  gives  place  to  a  missionary  meeting. 

CLASSICAL    COURSE. 
ADMISSION    AND     GRADUATION. 

Applicants  for  admission  must  present  a  diploma  certifying 
graduation  from  college,  or  must  satisfy  the  Faculty,  by  examina- 
tion or  certificate,  that  they  have  had  the  equivalent  of  a  college 
course.  They  must  also  present  certificates  of  membership  in 
some  Christian  church.  Such  college  graduates,  upon  the  comple- 
tion of  the  full  three-years'  Seminary  course,  consisting  of  at  least 
1,440  hours,  receive  the  degree  of  D.B.  It  is  recommended  that 
the  college  work  include  a  reading  knowledge  of  German ;  also  the 
lists  of  studies  given  below. 

Below  will  be  found  a  list  of  studies  recommended  for  the  Senior 
year  in  college.  From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  by  planning  in  ad- 
vance the  student  may  secure,  within  three  years  after  graduating 
from  college,  what  is  practically  a  four-years'  theological  course. 

Students  coming  from  other  theological  seminaries  in  which  a 
similar  standard  of  scholarship  is  maintained  will  be  received  ad 
eundem  on  presenting  evidence  of  good  scholarship  and  honorable 
dismission ;  and  any  applican  will  be  admitted  to  advance  stand- 
ing after  passing  a  satisfactory  examination  in  all  the  studies  which 
have  been  pursued  by  the  class  which  he  desires  to  join.    Admis- 


358  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

sion  to  the  Senior  class  is,  however,  not  allowed  later  than  the 
beginning  of  the  second  semester. 

GRADUATE    STUDY. 

The  numerous  electives,  some  of  which  are  of  an  advanced 
character,  afford  facilities  which  may  be  employed  by  those  desiring 
more  extensive  study  than  can  be  compressed  within  three  years. 
The  faculty  will  be  glad  to  arrange  a  course  of  such  study  for  any 
one  who  may  desire.  Opportunity  for  private  research  under  the 
direction  of  the  professors  will  also  be  afforded. 

COURSES    OF    INSTRUCTION. 

In  the  following  descriptions  three  classes  of  courses  are  dis- 
tinguished : 

1.  Courses  marked  *  are  required.  These  amount  to  817  hours  ; 
they  cover  the  subjects  most  essential  to  a  theological  course  and 
must  be  taken  by  all. 

2.  Courses  not  especially  marked  are  elective.  They  amount  in 
the  course  of  three  years  to  1,538  hours.  From  them  the  student 
is  to  select  as  he  desires  a  number  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  meet 
the  requirement  for  graduation,  which  is  1,440  hours. 

3.  Courses  marked  f  are  optional.  These  are  recommended  to 
those  who  have  time  for  additional  work  as  valuable  supplements 
to  the  curriculum.  No  credit  is  allowed  for  them,  as  they  are  not 
to  be  regarded  as  substitutes  for  Classes  1  and  2.  They  are  courses 
offered  by  the  college  as  higher  electives  for  undergraduates,  or  as 
graduate  work. 

Upon  recommendation  of  the  Faculty,  students  are  admitted 
without  charge  to  such  college  and  academy  courses,  not  to  exceed 
five  hours  per  week,  as  they  are  prepared  to  pursue. 

ENCYCLOPEDIA. 

Professor  King. 
*  Theological  Encyclopedia.     First  semester.    We.,  Fr.    28  hours. 
Required  for  juniors. 

The  course  is  intended  to  be  a  helpful  introduction  to  the  student's  entire 
theological  study.  It  seeks  to  put  the  various  branches  of  his  study  into  their 
true  relations  with  each  other,  and  so  to  bring  unity  into  the  whole.  To  this 
end,  the  course  discusses  briefly  the  different  branches  of  theological  inquiry, 
with  their  connections,  principles,  methods,  and  subdivisions,  and  adds  some 
suggestions  as  to  the  most  important  literature  in  each  field.  The  course  is 
based  on  Cave's  Introduction  to  Theology. 


WOMAN  IN  THE  PULPIT.  359 


OLD    TESTAMENT. 

Professor  Burroughs. 

INTRODUCTION. 

*  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament  I.  Second 
semester,  1901-02,  and  alternate  years.  Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.  54 
hours. 

This  course  is  designed  to  present  a  survey  of  the  contents  of  the  several  Old 
Testament  books,  which  each  student  is  expected  to  read  in  English  and  para- 
graph as  a  part  of  his  preparation  of  the  work.  Special  attention  is  given  to  the 
Historical  and  Prophetical  books.  The  problems  of  Literary  Criticism  are  con- 
sidered and  suggestions  are  given  to  guide  toward  their  solution.  Lectures  are 
given  on  various  topics  of  General  Introduction. 

Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  the  Old  Testament  II.  Second 
semester,  1900-01,  and  alternate  years.  Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.  54 
hours. 

This  course  is  especially  devoted  to  a  careful  study  of  the  poetical  books,  the 
Wisdom  Literature,  and  the  Pentateuch.  It  is  designed  to  supplement  the  pre- 
ceding course.  Those  who  have  passed  through  these  two  courses  in  Intro- 
duction will  have  made  a  careful  study  of  the  contents  of  the  entire  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  will  have  examined  in  the  light  of  these  contents  current  critical 
theories  regarding  the  Old  Testament. 

EXEGESIS. 

Hebrew  a.     Throughout  the  year.     Tu.,  We.,  Th.,  Fr.,  Sa.     160 

hours. 

First  semester.  Elementary  Hebrew  Grammar  with  exercises  in  reading 
and  writing  Hebrew. 

Second  semester.  The  grammatical  work  is  continued  by  exercises  in  syn- 
tax and  sight-reading.  Exegetical  work  is  begun,  in  exposition  (a)  of  selected 
passages  from  the  Pentateuch,  and  (&)  of  selections  from  the  historical  and 
poetical  books. 

As  the  work  of  the  first  semester  is  merely  preparatory,  credit  cannot  be  given 
for  it  unless  the  whole  course  is  taken. 

It  is  expected  that  students  who  desire  to  be  credited  with  first-year  Hebrew 
taken  in  College  will  continue  the  study  of  Hebrew  Exegesis  at  least  a  year  in 
the  Seminary. 

Hebrew  b.  The  Book  of  Isaiah.  First  semester,  1900-01,  and 
alternate  years.     "We.,  Fr.     28  hours. 

In  this  and  the  courses  following,  no  attempt  is  made  to  read  rapidly,  but  the 
aim  is  by  careful  and  painstaking  work  to  enable  the  student  to  form  a  sound 
exegetical  method  which  can  be  independently  employed  in  after  years. 

Hebrew  c.  Selections  from  the  Minor  Prophets.  Second  semester, 
1900-01,  and  alternate  years.     We.,  Fr.     3G  hours. 


360  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Hebrew  d.  Old  Testament  Poetry  outside  of  the  Psalter,  with  an 
Introduction  to  Hebrew  Poetry.  First  semester,  1901-02,  and 
alternate  years.     We.,  Fr.     28  hours. 

Hebrew  e.  The  Psalms.  Second  semester,  1901-02,  and  alternate 
years.     We.,  Fr.     36  hours. 

BIBLICAL  THEOLOGY. 

Old  Testament  Theology.     First  semester,  1900-01,  and  alternate 
years.     Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.     42  hours. 
A  required  course  for  those  who  do  not  elect  Hebrew  a. 

Messianic  Prophecy.     First  semester,  1901-02,  and  alternate  years. 
Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.     42  hours. 
A  required  course  for  those  who  do  not  elect  Hebrew  a. 

NEW    TESTAMENT. 

Professor  Bosworth. 

INTRODUCTION. 

* General  Introduction  to  the  New  Testament.  Throughout  the 
year.     Sa.     32  hours. 

The  course  includes  a  discussion  of  the  canon  and  textual  criticism.  Lectures 
with  assigned  readings  and  examinations.  To  be  taken  in  connection  with  New 
Testament  a.  below. 

Special  Introduction  I.  Second  semester,  1900-01,  and  alternate 
years.     Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.     54  hours. 

Special  Introduction  II.  Second  semester,  1901-02,  and  alter- 
nate years.     We.,  Fr.     36  hours. 

These  two  courses  in  Special  Introduction  consist  chiefly  of  the  inductive 
study  of  the  Englixh  New  Testament.  In  connection  with  such  study  lectures 
are  given  and  midinas  assigned  in  various  recent  works  on  Introduction.  While 
the  work  is  done  primarily  from  the  standpoint  of  introduction,  it  is  intended 
that  the  class  shall  discover  the  principal  exegetical  problems  of  each  book 
studied,  and  be  prepared  for  further  work  upon  them  after  leaving  the  Seminary. 
Those  who  elect  both  these  courses  and  those  in  Greek  exegesis  can  cover 
almost  all  of  the  New  Testament  in  inductive  study  during  the  three  years  of 
the  theological  course. 

EXEGESIS. 

*New  Testament  a.  The  Gospels  and  the  Acts.  Throughout  the 
year.     Tu.,  We.,  Th.,  Fr.     128  hours.  / 

Mark  and  a  part  of  Acts  are  studied  exegetically.  Special  attention  is  given 
(a)  to  the  grammatical  and  lexical  peculiarities  of  New  Testament  Greek;  (b) 


WOMAN  IN   THE  PULPIT.  361 


to  a  general  view  of  the  synoptic  problem;  (c)  to  the  Introduction  to  the  Goa- 
pels  and  the  Acts. 

New  Testament  b.  Hebrews.  First  semester,  1901-02,  and  alter- 
nate years.  We.,  Fr.  28  hours. 
Selections  are  made  from  Flebrews  for  detailed  exegesis,  and  the  development 
of  thought  in  the  whole  epistle  is  discussed.  In  this  and  the  following  courses, 
in  connection  with  the  lectures,  essays  upon  related  topics  may  be  required  of 
each  student. 

New  Testament  c.    Romans.    Second  semester,  1901-02,  and  alter- 
nate years.     Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.     54  hours. 

Detailed  exegesis  of  the  first  eight  chapters  of  Romans,  including  an  induc- 
tive study  of  principal  terms  and  a  written  paraphrase  of  selected  portions. 

New    Testament   d.     Colossians,    Philippians,    and  the    Catholic 
Epistles.     First  semester,  1900-01,  and  alternate  years.     We., 
Fr.     28  hours. 
Selections  are  made  from  the  group  for  exegetical  study. 

New  Testament  e.     Thessalonians,    Corinthians,   Galatians,   and 
Ephesians.     Second  semester,  1900-01,  and  alternate   years. 
We.,  Fr.  36   hours. 
Selections  are  made  from  the  group  for  exegetical  study. 

BIBLICAL  THEOLOGY. 

The  Teaching  of  Jesus.     First  semester,   1900-01,  and   alternate 
years.     Tu.,  Th.     28  hours. 

The    Teaching  of  Paul.     First  semester,  1901-02,    and   alternate 
years.     Tu.,  Th.     28  hours. 

SEMINAR. 

New  Testament  Seminar.     First  semester.    We.    Credit,  28  hours. 

Admission  is  granted  only  to  such  as  have  done  successful  work  in  the  depart- 
ment.   The  subject  of  investigation  in  1900-01  will  be  the  Johannine  teaching. 

CHURCH    HISTORY. 
Professor  Swing. 

EXTERNAL  HISTORY. 

*  General   History  of  the    Church.      Throughout  the  year.     Mo., 
We.,  Fr.     Credit,  96  hours. 

I.    Through  the  ancient  and  mediaeval  periods. 
II.    Pre-reformers  and  the  Reformation. 


362  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

History  of  Religious  Freedom  and  Toleration.  First  semester, 
1901-02.     Fr.     Credit,  28  or  42  hours. 

The  course  treats  historically  the  development  of  religious  freedom  and  tol- 
eration in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  Continent  from  the  Reformation  period,  and 
is  introductory  to  the  History  of  the  Church  in  America. 

History  of  the  Church  in  America.     Second  semester.     1901-02. . 
Fr.     Credit,  36  or  54  hours. 

HISTORY   OF  DOCTRINE  PROPER. 

The  method  of  treatment  in  this  study  is  that  which  has  come  into  use  in 
Germany  of  tracing  in  an  orderly  way  the  development  of  Christian  dogma, 
until  the  completed  systems  of  the  Greek,  the  Roman,  and  the  Protestant 
churches  are  reached. 

*  History  of  Dogma.  Throughout  the  year.  Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.  96 
hours. 

The  subject  is  introduced  by  a  survey  of  Greek  and  Roman  philosophy  and 
Hebrew  speculation  before  and  at  the  time  of  Christ,  and  takes  up  the  origin 
and  development  of  doctrines,  their  dogmatizing  in  the  first  great  Councils,  and 
concludes  with  the  dying  out  of  original  thought  in  the  Eastern  church.  A 
seminar  will  also  be  organized  in  connection  with  this  part  of  the  work  for  the 
study  of  the  rich  and  valuable  historical  sources  from  the  apostolic  age  to  250 
A.D. 

The  second  part  of  the  course  begins  with  Augustine,  and  will  aim  to  con- 
struct comprehensive  outlines  of  the  development  of  Augustinianism,  Mediaeval 
and  Tridentine  theology,  Pre  Reformation  and  Reformation  doctrine,  and  con- 
clude a  study  of  Reformation  creeds  with  the  Westminster  Confession.  The 
seminar  connected  with  this  part  of  the  subject  will  for  the  current  year  take 
up  the  fundamental  study  of  Augustinianism,  a  knowledge  of  which  is  neces- 
sary to  our  understanding  of  either  Catholicism  or  Protestantism. 

Historical  Seminar.  The  seminar  held  each  semester  in  connec- 
tion with  the  History  of  Dogma  will  have  a  credit  of  28  and 
36  hours  respectively.     Mo. 

HISTORY  OF  MODERN  THEOLOGY. 

Modern  German  Theology.  First  semester,  1900-01,  and  alternate 
years.     Fr.     Credit,  28  or  42  hours. 

This  course  furnisher  an  opportunity  of  studying  religion  as  it  is  found  in  con- 
tact with  the  philosophy,  literature,  and  political  interests  of  the  German  people 
since  the  Reformation,  with  special  reference  to  recent  schools  and  present 
trends  of  thought. 


WOMAN  IN  THE  PULPIT.  363 

Theology  in  America.     Second  semester,   1900-01,  and  alternate 
years.     Fr.     Credit,  36  or  54  hours. 

Particular  attention  ia  given  in  this  course  to  the  historical  sources  of  colonial 
theology,  to  New  England  theology  proper,  and  to  the  more  recent  theological 
movements  and  tendencies. 

THEOLOGY. 

Professor  King. 
Theology  I.     Philosophy  of  Religion.     Throughout  the  year.     Tu., 
We.,  Th.,  Fr.,   Sa.     160  hours.     Elective  for  Middlers  and 
Seniors. 

The  work  of  this  year  is  philosophical ;  it  takes  up  the  fundamental  inquiries 
in  metaphysics,  theory  of  knowledge,  ethics,  and  philosophy  of  religion,  which 
are  essential  to  a  unified  view  of  the  world.  In  this  philosophical  survey  it  is 
attempted  to  take  account  of  the  whole  man,  volitional  and  emotional  as  well  as 
intellectual,  and  to  give  full  weight  to  aesthetic,  ethical,  and  religious  data. 
The  course  is  based  in  its  earlier  part  upon  Lotze's  "  Microcosmus  and  Outlines 
of  th.;  Philosophy  of  Religion;  "  and  consists,  in  its  later  part,  of  a  careful  discus- 
sion of  the  bearing  of  evolution  upon  philosophy  and  religion,  based  on  Le  Conte's 
"  Evolution  and  Its  Relation  to  Religious  Thought,"  and  Schmid's  "  Theories 
of  Darwin."  The  best  of  the  later  literature  on  this  subject  is  discussed.  The 
work  of  this  first  year  is  intended  rather  as  a  supplement  than  as  a  basis  of  the 
work  of  the  second  year.  It  deals  with  the  philosophic  and  scientific  relations 
of  Christian  doctrine,  and  aims  to  secure  for  the  student  some  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence in  critical  thinking,  and  an  acquaintance  with  the  fundamental  phil- 
osophical problems  that  must  be  faced  by  every  man  who  really  desires  to  think 
the  world  through,  and  to  be  a  thoughtful  leader  of  men. 

The  course  is  given  in  Peters  Hall,  and  .is  open  also  to  College  Seniors  and 
Graduate  students. 

*  Theology  II.  Systematic  Theology,  critical  and  constructive. 
Throughout  the  year.  Tu.,  We.,  Th.,  Fr.,  Sa.  160  hours. 
Required  for  Seniors,  and  open  only  to  them  and  Graduate 
students  of  the  College. 

The  work  of  this  year  is  devoted  to  strictly  theological  inquiry,  and  presup- 
poses the  courses  in  Biblical  theology,  history  of  doctrine,  and  apologetics. 

The  first  part  of  the  course  is  given  to  a  careful  critical  discussion  of  the  most 
theological  movements  of  the  present  day.  It  seeks  from  the  student  himself  a 
critical  appreciation ,  favorable  and  unfavorable,  of  Frank's  "  System  of  Christian 
Certainty,"  representing  the  conservative  school  of  Germany;  of  Pfleiderer's 
"  Philosophy  and  Development  of  Religion,"  volume  2,  representing  the  liberal 
school;  of  Ritschl's  "Instruction  in  the  Christian  Religion,"  representing  the 
Ritschlian  school;  and  of  the  theological  portions  of  Fairbairn's  "  The  Place  of 
Christ  in  Modern  Theology."  A  similar  critical  appreciation  is  then  undertaken 
of  a  number  of  the  great  creeds  of  the  church,  the  Apostles'  Creed,  the  Nicene 
Creed,  the  Athanasian  Creed,  the  Form  of  Concord,  the  Second  Helvetic  Con 
fession,  the  Thirty-Nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  England,  the  Five  Ar- 


364  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


rainian  Articles,  the  Westminster  Confession  of  Faith,  the  Burial  Tlill  Declara- 
tion, and  the  Commission  Creed  of  1S83.  It  is  believed  that  this  plan  not  only 
stimulates  the  student  to  independent  thinking,  and  secures  both  a  broader  and 
a  deeper  knowledge  of  theological  questions,  but  also  proves  directly  helpful  to 
his  own  constructive  thinking. 

The  second  part  of  the  course  is  distinctly  constructive,  and  is  built  imme- 
diately upon  the  results  of  Biblical  theology.  It  aims  to  state  every  theological 
doctrine  in  terms  of  personal  relations,  and  in  full  light  of  the  person  and  teach- 
ing of  Jesus,  as  the  supreme  revelatiou  of  God;  and  the  meaning  of  the  doctrine 
for  life  is  held  continually  in  mind.  The  confirmation  of  religious  experience 
and  of  the  historical  and  philosophical  inquiry  is  considered,  and  the  attempt 
thus  made  to  give  to  Christian  theology  its  place  in  a  really  unified  view  of  the 
world.  Clarke's  "  Outline  of  Christian  Theology  "  is  used  for  this  part  of  the 
course,  uot  as  a  text  for  recitation,  but  as  a  basis  for  discussion. 

Positive  Institutions  of  the   Church.     Second  semester,  1900-01, 
and  alternate  years.     12  lectures. 

Rev.  H.  M.  Tenney,  D.D. 


HARMONY    OF    SCIENCE    AND    REVELATION. 

Professor   Wright. 
*  Evidences  of  Christianity .     Winter  term  of  the  College.     Tu., 
We.,  Th.,  Fr.,  Sa.     55  hours. 

Wright's  "  Logic  of  Christian  Evidences,"  and  "Scientific  Aspects  of  Chris- 
tian Evidences,"  are  made  the  basis  of  this  course,  but  it  is  supplemented  with 
lectures,  parallel  reading,  and  the  preparation  of  essays  upon  special  topics. 

Geological  and  Geographical  Preparation  for  Christianity.  1901- 
02.  Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.  27  hours. 
This  will  be  a  special  course  consisting  of  lectures  to  be  given  upon  Professor 
Wright's  return  from  a  trip  to  the  Orient,  during  which  he  will  have  visited 
Siberia,  the  Caspian  and  Black  Seas,  Armenia,  the  Valley  of  the  Euphrates, 
the  Lebanon  Mountains,  the  Valley  of  the  Jordan  and  the  Dead  Sea,  Palestine, 
and  Egypt. 

General  Course  in  Apologetics.  Second  semester,  1901-02,  and 
every  third  year.  Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.  54  hours. 
This  consists  of  lectures  upon  the  history  of  apologetics;  the  historical  basis 
of  the  Old  Testament,  criticism  of  the  Old  Testament;  modern  science  and  the 
Old  Testament;  recent  discoveries  and  the  Old  Testament;  miracles  of  the  Old 
Testament;  alleged  errors  of  the  Old  Testament;  theistic  conceptions  of  the  Old 
Testament ;  ethics  of  the  Old  Testament ;  sociology  of  the  Old  Testament ;  canon 
of  the  Old  Testament;  historical  basis  of  the  New  Testament;  critical  theories 
of  the  New  Testament;  recent  discoveries  and  the  New  Testament;  miracles  of 
the  New  Testament;  alleged  errors  of  the  New  Testament;  prophecies  fulfilled 
in  the  New  Testament;  quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  in  the  New;  canon 


WOMAN  IN  THE  PULPIT.  365 

of  the  New  Testament;  practical  ethics  of  the  New  Testament ;  the  person  of 
Jesus;  the  influence  of  Paul;  recent  progress  of  Christianity;  the  future  of 
Christ's  kingdom. 

The  Inductive   Method  of  Reasoning.     Second  semester,  1903-04, 
and  every  third  year.     Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.     54  hours. 

This  course  consists  of  lectures  illustrating  the  subject  in  general  from  the 
natural  sciences,  and  in  its  special  application  in  determining  the  canon,  text 
and  interpretation  of  Scripture.  Parallel  reading  and  the  preparation  of  ar 
essay  are  required  of  each  member  of  the  class. 

The  Origin  and  Antiquity  of  the  Human  Race.     Second  semester, 
1902-03,  and  every  third  year.     Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.     54  hours. 

This  course  consists  of  lectures  discussing  the  subject  in  all  its  bearings. 
Parallel  reading  and  the  preparation  of  an  essay  are  required  of  each  member 
of  this  class. 

COMPARATIVE    THEOLOGY    AND    CHRISTIAN    MISSIONS. 

President  Barrows. 

Comparative  Religion. 

This  course  of  lectures  is  intended  to  bring  out  the  points  of  resemblance  and 
contrast  between  Christianity  and  the  leading  non-Christian  faiths. 

HOMILETICS    AND    PRACTICAL   THEOLOGY. 

Professor  Currier. 

*  Homiletics  a.     First  semester.     Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.     42  hours. 

Lectures  upon  the  nature  of  the  sermon  as  a  literary  production  ;  the  different 
classes  of  sermons;  the  principles  of  their  construction;  the  use  of  texts  ;  the 
nature  and  vuluo  of  expository  preaching;  the  methods  of  preparation,  respec- 
tively, for  the  extemporaneous  and  written  sermon;  the  particular  advantages 
of  each  of  thfse  methods  of  preaching;  the  homiletic  habit;  and  the  paramount 
importance  of  the  minister's  pulpit  work. 

Homiletics  b.     Second  semester.     Tu.,  Th.     36  hours. 

Lectures  upon  the  properties  of  style  suited  to  the  pulpit,  and  the  method  of 
cultivating  it;  the  conditions  of  success  in  the  ministry;  the  ministerial  spirit; 
the  minister's  theme;  the  method  and  the  range  of  the  minister's  studies;  and 
the  benefits  and  dangers  attending  the  study  of  models.  In  connection  with  the 
lectures  there  are  special  exercises  in  extemporaneous  preaching.  The  members 
of  the  class,  under  the  professor's  direction,  also  prepare  and  read  before  the 
class  during  this  term  elaborate  M  Studies  in  Biography,"  treating  of  distin- 
guished preachers  of  the  past  and  the  present  times.  Near  the  close  of  the 
semester  a  series  of  twelve  lectures  is  given  upon  great  preachers  of  Christi- 
anity: Chrysostom,  Augustine,  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  Luther,  Knox,  and 
Richard  Baxter. 


366  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Sermon-plan  Construction.     First  semester.     Fr.     14  hours.     Sec- 
ond semester.     Wo.     18  hours. 

Special  exercises  in  sermon-plan  making  for  the  practical  application  of  the 
principles  of  sermon  construction. 

Practical  Theology  a.     First  semester.     Tu.,  Th.,  Sa.     42  hours. 

Lectures  upon  the  following  topics,  viz.,  the  pastoral  function  of  the  minister 
and  its  importance;  Sunday  schools;  the  pastor's  work  among  the  young  people; 
the  advantages  of  the  settled  pastorate;  prayer-raeetings;  revivals;  the  instruc- 
tion of  religious  inquirers  and  new  converts;  pastoral  visiting;  church  organiza- 
tion; and  ministry  to  the  sick  and  the  afflicted. 

Practical  Theology  b.     First  semester.     We.  Fr.     28  hours. 

Studies  in  Christianity  as  applied  to  sociological  problems;  lectures  upon  the 
prevalence  of  crime,  its  causes  and  remedies,  and  the  principles  of  penology  ap- 
proved by  the  progress  of  prison  reform  during  the  last  century ;  upon  scientific 
charity,  or  the  most  approved  and  successful  methods  of  helping  the  poor;  the 
mutual  relations  of  capital  and  labor. 

Practical  Theology  c.     Second  semester.     We.,  Fri.     36  hours. 

The  relation  and  the  duty  of  the  pastor  to  benevolent  organizations.  The  six 
national  societies  of  the  Congregational  church. 

With  the  design  of  indicating  important  sources  of  thought  and  information 
for  serraonic  uses  a  series  of  lectures  upon  special  helps  for  Bible  study,  relig- 
ious works  of  extraordinary  value,  and  the  most  important  works  of  the  most 
eminent  of  the  old  English  divines. 

Missions.     Second  semester.     Tu.,  Th.     34  hours. 

Lectures  upon  Modern  Missions  with  assigned  readings  and  examinations. 

In  this  course  of  lectures  the  following  topics  are  considered:  problems  of 
missions  that  relate  to  the  missionary  fields;  problems  of  missions  that  specially 
concern  the  home  churches;  the  answer  of  missions  to  critics  that  disparage 
their  success  and  value;  incidental  fruits  of  missions;  the  apologetic  value  of 
missions;  the  personal  qualifications  demanded  for  success  in  the  missionary 
work;  considerations  that  give  attraction  to  foreign  missionary  work;  the  pe- 
culiar features,  difficulties,  and  encouragements  of  the  different  missionary 
fields,  China,  Japan,  India,  Africa,  Isles  of  the  Sea,  and  Scripture  Lands. 

*  Preaching  Exercises.     Throughout  the  year.     Alternate  Wednes- 
days.    16  hours. 

These  exercises  consist  of  the  preaching  of  sermons,  written  and  extemporane- 
ous; the  exposition  of  selected  passages  of  Scripture,  and  the  reading  of  Script- 
ure and  hymns.  They  are  given  before  the  whole  Seminary,  and  the  Faculty 
criticise  and  comment  upon  them. 


WOMAN  IN  THE  PULPIT.  367 

Church  Polity.     Second  semester,  1901-02,  and  alternate  years. 

A  course  of  twelve  lessons  in  the  principles  of  Church  Polity,  based  upon 
Ross's  Pocket  Manual  of  Congregationalism,  with  especial  reference  to  the  prac- 
tical workings  of  American  Congregationalism,  councils,  ministerial  standing, 
etc.  A  moot  council  is  held,  and  students  are  exercised  in  the  various  forms  of 
ecclesiastical  procedure. 

ECONOMICS    AND    SOCIOLOGY. 

Professor  Carver. 
The  courses  offered  by  the  College  in  this  department  are  open  to  Seminary 
students,  and  are  recommended  to  those  who  are  able  to  do  outside  work,  as  a 
valuable  supplement  to  the  Seminary  curriculum. 

ELOCUTION    AND    ORATORY. 
Associate  Professor  Caskey. 
*  Elocution  a.     Second  semester.     Tu.,  Th.     54  hours. 

This  course  consists  of  class  and  private  lessons.  The  class  work  aims  to  get 
before  the  student  a  proper  conception  of  public  speaking  and  a  reasonable 
method  of  reaching  that  conception.  Realizing  that  only  through  constant  prac- 
tice proficiency  is  acquired,  the  student  is  called  upon  daily  to  present  from  the 
platform  some  Scripture,  hymn,  or  other  literature.  By  kindly  criticism  and 
helpful  suggestion  he  is  led  on  to  do  his  best  and  the  observing  class  grow  with 
him. 

The  private  work  is  directed  to  the  special  needs  of  the  student,  such  needs  as 
can  best  be  dealt  with  when  student  and  teacher  are  alone. 

Elocution  b.     First  semester.     Tu.,  Th.     42  hours. 

This  is  a  continuation  of  Elocution  a.  The  student  is  required  to  direct  the 
power  gained  in  the  previous  course  to  the  presentation  of  longer  and  more 
complete  addresses.  By  criticism  and  suggestion  from  class  and  instructor  he  is 
enabled  to  get  a  measure  of  the  effectiveness  of  his  speaking  and  is  pointed  to 
the  way  of  further  growth. 

MISSIONARY    SOCIETIES. 

A  course  of  lectures  is  delivered  each  year  upon  the  history  and 
work  of  some  one  of  the  larger  Congregational  benevolent  societies, 
by  one  of  its  secretaries. 

Such  a  course  was  delivered  in  1896-97  by  the  Rev.  Judson 
Smith,  D.D.,  of  the  A.B.C.F.M. ;  in  1897-98  by  the  Rev.  Charles 
J.  Ryder,  D.D.,  of  the  A.M.A. ;  in  1898-99  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  B. 
Clark,  D.D.,  of  the  C.H.M.S. ;  in  1899-00  by  the  Rev.  W.  F.  Me- 
Millen,  D.D.,  of  the  C.S.S.  &  P.S. 

The  smaller  societies  are  duly  represented  by  occasional  lectures 
by  their  secretaries,  at  intervals  not  intended  to  exceed  three  years. 


368  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBL8. 

OUTLINE    OF    COURSE. 

In  the  following  scheme  the  required  studies  are  assigned  to  the 
years  in  which  they  can  most  advantageously  be  taken.  The  arrange- 
ment of  the  schedule  of  daily  recitations  ordinarily  makes  it  impos- 
sible for  the  student  to  postpone  his  required  work  or  take  it  in  a 
different  order.  Encyclopedia  must  be  taken  in  Junior  year,  and 
Theology  II.  is  open  only  to  Seniors. 

Elective  courses  are  printed  below  in  the  place  where  they  can 
first  be  taken ;  thereafter  they  may  be  elected  by  any  class,  except 
that  Hebrew  should  not  be  begun  in  Senior  year,  or  except  in  rare 
cases  in  Middle  year. 


WOMAN  IJST  THE  PULPIT. 


369 


TEAR  AND 

REQUIRED  WITH    NUMBER 

ELECTIVES  WITH  NUMBER  OP 

SEMESTER. 

OF   HOURS. 

HOUKS. 

Preachintj  Exercise 

k 

Hebrew  a 

5 

New  Test,  a 

4 

Messianic  Prophecy  '01 

3 

Junior  I. 

New  Test.  Introduction 

Encyclopedia 

Church  History 

An  Old  Test.  Course 

1 

2 
3 

Old  Test.  Theology  '00 
Comparative  Theology 

3 

5  or  3 

Preaching  Exercit-e 

h 

Hebrew  a 

5 

New  Ted.  a 

4 

OldTest.Introd.II.  '01 

3 

NewTest.  Introduction 

1 

Spec.  NewTest.  Introd. 

Church  History 

3 

1.,'01 

3 

Junior  II. 

Elocution  a 

3 

Spec.  NewTest.  Introd. 

An  Old  Test.  Course 

II.,  '02 

2 

OldTest.Introd.II.  '02 

Apologetics  '02 
Origin  of  Man  '03 
Preparation  for 

Christianity  '01 
Comparative  Theology 

3 
3 

Preaching  Exercise 

h 

The  above  Electives 

History  of  Doctrine 

3 

Hebrew  b  '00 

2 

Homiletics  a 

V 

Hebrew  d  '01 

.      2 

For  non -Hebrew  men, 

New  Test,  b  '01 

2 

an  Old  Test.  Course 

3 

New  Test,  d  '00 
Teaching  of  Jesus  '00 

2 
2 

Middle  I. 

Teaching  of  Paul  '01 
Hist.  Rel.  Tol.  '01 
German  Theology  '00 
Historical  Seminar 
Theology  I. 
Plan  Construction 
Elocution  b 

2 
2  or  3 
2  or  3 

2 

5 

1 

3 

Preaching  Exercise 

h 

The  above  Electives 

History  of  Doctrine 

3 

Hebrew  c  '01 

2 

Christian  Evidences 

5 

Hebrew  e  '02 

2 

For  non- Hebrew  men, 

New  Test,  c  '02. 

3 

an  Old  Test.  Course 

o 

New  Test,  e  '01. 
Hist.  Am.  Ch.  '03 

2 
2  or  3 

Middle  II. 

American  Theology  '01 

2  or  3 

Theology  I. 

5 

Historical  Seminar 

2 

Homiletics  b 

2 

Plan  Construction 

1 

Missions 

1 

Positive  Institutions  '01 

Church  Polity  '02 

Preaching  Exercise 

1 

The  above  Electives 

Senior  I. 

Theology  II. 

New  Test.  Seminar 

2 

Practical  Theology  a 

3 

Practical  Theology  b 

2 

Senior  11. 

Preaching  Exercise 

h 

The  above  Electives 

Theology  II. 

5 

Practical  Theology  c 

2 

370  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

FOUR-YEAR  COURSE  IN  THEOLOGY. 

The  preceding  table  with  its  numerous  electives  shows  the  wealth 
and  embarrassment  of  the  Seminary  curriculum.  In  the  three 
years  of  the  course  the  student  is  unable  to  do  advanced  work  in 
more  than  one  or  two  departments. 

The  attention  of  college  students  is  called  to  the  advantage  of 
adjusting  their  college  work  to  their  proposed  seminary  course, 
thereby  securing  what  is  practically  a  four  years'  theological  course 
without  adding  a  year  to  the  time  required. 

The  college  senior  work  may  be  Hebrew  throughout  the  year, 
the  equivalent  of  Theology  I.,  Christian  Evidences,  Sociology, 
History  (especially  Roman,  Mediaeval,  and  English). 

There  are  abundant  electives  in  the  several  departments  of  the 
Seminary  to  fill  the  hours  thus  left  free.  The  student  is  prepared 
to  enter  at  once  in  Junior  year  upon  the  elective  work  of  the  Old 
Testament  department,  and  this,  in  turn,  will  make  possible  a  more 
generous  election  of  studies  from  other  departments  in  the  remain- 
ing years. 


WOMAN  IN    THE  PULPIT. 


371 


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WOMAN  IN   THE  PULPIT.  373 

The  only  time  I  am  ever  conscious  of  being  a  "woman  mini- 
ster "  is  when  I  wander  into  some  churchf old  where  the  women 
are  considered  fit  to  bear  the  heavy  burdens  of  church  work,  but 
unfit  to  exercise  the  right  to  vote,  or  to  claim  the  privilege  of 
ordination.  —  Rev.  Alice  K.  Wright. 


374  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 

PULPIT    AND    PEW. 

I  do  not  think  the  story  of  the  Gospel  will  be  fully- 
told  until  Christian  women  all  round  the  world  tell  it. 
My  pulpit  is  always  open  to  women,  and  when  they  have 
preached  there  the  impression  has  always  been  deep  and 
good  and  lasting.  —  T.  De  Witt  Talmage. 

The  first  Congregational  church  organized  in  New 
Jersey  ordered  its  chorister  not  to  allow  any  females 
to  sing  in  the  choir,  because  Paul  had  commanded  women 
to  keep  silence  in  the  churches.  This  is  the  most  illus- 
trious instance,  so  far  as  I  know,  of  absolute  fidelity  to 
a  literal  exegesis  concerning  woman's  relation  to  public 
worship.  —  Frances  E.  Willard,  in  her  work,  "  Woman 
in  the  Pulpit" 

I  am  in  favor  of  having  the  vote  put  in  woman's  hand. 
I  want  the  experiment  made,  although  I  have  not  as 
much  faith  as  some  have  in  its  power  to  correct  the  evils 
of  the  day.  —  T.  De  Witt  Talmage. 

I  cannot  see  why  women  should  be  called  on  to  pay 
tax  for  the  support  of  a  government  when  they  are  not 
allowed  the  opportunity  of  expressing  at  the  ballot-box 
what  that  government  shall  be.  —  T.  De  Witt  Talmage. 

To  him  or  to  her  who  knoweth  to  do  good  and  doeth 
it  not,  it  is  a  sin.     By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them  — 


PULPIT  AND   PEW.  375 

both  man  and  woman  —  as  preacher  or  teacher.  —  Rev. 
Joseph  Cook. 

Whether  woman  shall  enter  the  pulpit  or  not  is  a 
question  which  I,  for  one,  believe  that  we  are  to  decide 
by  these  Scriptural  rules,  and  in  the  light  of  detailed 
and  prolonged  experience. —  Rev.  Joseph  Cook. 

She  who  has  written  "  Uncle  Tom's  Cabin  "  or  "  Aurora 
Leigh  "  certainly  does  not  lack  mental,  moral,  or  spiritual 
fitness  for  the  ministry.  —  Rev.  Joseph  Cook. 

Woman's  sphere  has  enlarged  so  vastly  within  a  recent 
period  that  her  success  in  spheres  analogous  to  the  pul- 
pit may  be  fairly  quoted  as  an  indication  of  her  fitness 
for  many  branches  of  the  sacred  profession.  —  Rev. 
Joseph  Cook. 

I  cannot  but  feel  that  women  have  a  greater  Christian 
work  to  do  than  many  of  us  have  yet  realized  or  ad- 
mitted, and  that  they  have  it  to  do  for  the  simple  reason 
that  they  are  divinely  qualified  to  do  it.  —  Dr.  Joseph 
Parker. 

No  one  thinks  of  denying  woman's  right  to  preach 
in  print ;  why  may  it  not  be  that  some  women  have  a 
divine  call  to  preach  in  the  pulpit  ?  Woman  as  a 
lecturer  has  won  a  high  place  in  great  reformatory 
movements.  —  Rev.  Joseph  Cook. 

I  confidently  look  to  women  who  have  received  the 
heavenly  gift  to  recall  and  reestablish  the  heroic  and 
sacrificial  piety  of  the  church. —  Dr.  Joseph  Parker. 

It  would  in  nearly  every  case  be  better,  no  doubt,  that 


376  HELPS   FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

woman  as  a  preacher,  as  well  as  man  as  a  preacher, 
should  be  married ;  but  there  are  exceptions  to  this  rule 
that  have  been  justified  by  experience,  both  as  to  man 
and  as  to  woman. — Rev.  Joseph  Cook. 

Men  may  have  a  certain  degree  of  argumentativeness, 
and  an  undoubted  skill  in  making  Christ's  Gospel  pecul- 
iarly hard  to  be  understood,  but  they  have  not  the  sacred 
tact,  the  melting  pathos,  the  holy  patience,  the  exquisite 
sympathy,  which  belong  to  the  omnipotent-weakness 
which  is  the  incommunicable  characteristic  of  woman- 
hood. —  Dr.  Joseph  Parker. 

If  woman  is  to  enter  the  pulpit  she  must  of  course 
prepare  for  its  work  with  as  much  thoroughness  as  man 
does  j  if  she  once  takes  up  the  tasks  of  the  ministry  she 
must  show  that  she  can  perform  them,  or  some  part  of 
them  at  least,  as  well  as  man  does.  The  stern  law  of 
the  survival  of  the  fittest  will  be  sure  to  prevail  in  this 
department  of  the  struggle  for  existence  as  well  as  else- 
where.—  Rev.  Joseph  Cook. 

He  preach' d  the  joys  of  heaven,  and  pains  of  hell, 
And  warn'd  the  sinner  with  becoming  zeal: 
But  on  eternal  mercy  loved  to  dwell. 

Dryden. 

We  need  women  commentators  to  bring  out  the 
women's  side  of  the  Bible ;  we  need  the  stereoscopic 
view  of  truth  in  general,  which  can  only  be  had  when 
woman's  eye  and  man's  together  shall  discern  the  per- 
spective of  the  Bible's  full-orbed  revelation.  —  Frances 
E.   Willard. 

I   desire   that   women   adorn    themselves    in    modest 


PULPIT  AND   PEW.  377 

apparel,  with  shamefastness  and  sobriety;  not  with 
braided  hair,  and  gold  or  pearls  or  costly  raiment.  Let  a 
woman  learn  in  quietness,  with  all  subjection.  But  I 
permit  not  a  woman  to  teach,  nor  to  have  dominion  over 
a  man,  but  to  be  in  quietness.  For  Adam  was  first 
formed,  then  Eve.  —  St.  Paul.  But  our  exegetes  and 
pulpit  expounders,  while  laying  the  most  solemn  emphasis 
upon  the  last  part  of  this  command  as  an  unchangeable 
rule  of  faith  and  practice  for  womankind  in  all  ages  and 
in  all  places,  pass  over  the  specific  commands  relative 
to  braided  hair,  gold,  pearls,  and  expensive  attire,  and 
have  a  thousand  times  preached  to  women  who  were 
violating  every  one  of  them,  without  uttering  the  slight- 
est warning  of  reproof.  —  Frances  E.    Willard. 

Given  the  custom  of  being  waited  on,  and  slavery  is 
readily  seen  to  beof  divine  authority  ;  given  the  unpleas- 
antness of  washing  people's  feet,  and  that  hallowed 
ordinance  speedily  passes  into  innocuous  desuetude. — 
Frances  E.    Willard. 

A  returned  missionary  from  China  assures  me  that  of 
four  separate  translations  of  the  New  Testament  into 
Chinese,  all  change  Paul's  words  :  "  I  intreat  thee,  also, 
true  yoke-fellow,  help  those  women  which  labored  with 
me  in  the  Gospel,"  into  "  help  those  true  yoke-fellows," 
etc.,  leaving  out  the  idea  of  women  altogether.  A  lead- 
ing [male]  missionary  was  asked  the  meaning  of  this, 
and  he  naively  replied,  "  Oh,  it  would  not  do,  with  the 
ideas  of  the  Chinese,  to  mention  women  in  this  connec- 
tion." —  Frances  E.  Willard. 

Judge  not  the  preacher,  for  he  is  thy  judge ; 
If  thou  mistake  him  thou  conceiv'st  him  not. 

Herbert. 


378  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

The  same  writers  who  exhaust  the  resources  of  lan- 
guage to  deride  the  dogma  of  apostolic  succession  rigidly 
enforce  that  of  the  male  priesthood,  for  which  the  Bible 
gives  them  just  as  little  warrant.  —  Frances  E.  Willard. 

The  man  who  argues  that,  "  Adam  being  first  formed, 
woman  should  be  in  perpetual  subjection  to  the  one  who, 
before  she  was  created,  was  warned  against  eating  of  the 
tree  of  knowledge,  who  sinned  by  her  side,  and  was  dis- 
missed with  her  from  Eden,"  should  remember  that  this 
literalness  of  rendering  makes  it  his  personal  duty,  day 
by  day,  actually  to  "  eat  his  bread  in  the  sweat  of  his 
face."  The  argument  is  a  two-edged  sword,  and  cuts 
both  ways.  —  Frances  FJ.   Willard. 

There  are  thirty  or  forty  passages  in  favor  of  woman's 
public  work  for  Christ,  and  only  two  against  it,  and 
these  not  really  so  when  rightly  understood.  —  Frances 
E.    Willard. 

The  best  preaching  is  that  which  sends  people  to  the 
Word  of  God,  which  assists  but  does  not  supersede  the 
closest  study  of  God's  word,  and  which  points  out  to  the 
people  how  they  are  to  roll  away  the  stone  and  lay  open 
the  pure  spring  of  heavenly  truth.  —  J.  B.  Heard. 

If  they  would  be  consistent  all  ministers  who  accept 
the  evolution  theory  —  and  a  majority  of  them  seem  to 
have  done  so  —  must  admit  that  not  only  was  woman 
made  of  better  material  than  man  (which  they  doubtless 
will  cheerfully  grant !  )but  that,  coming  last  in  the  order 
of  creation,  she  stands  highest  of  all.  —  Frances  E.  Wil- 
lard. 

In  life's  prime  and  pride  men  like  to  quote  "Adam 
was  first  formed,  then  Eve,"  but  at  the  grave  they  are 


PULPIT  AND   PEW.  379 

ready  to  declare  that  "  man  born  of  woman,  is  of  few 
days  and  full  of  trouble."  —  Frances  E.  Willard. 

It  is  a  whimsical  fact  that  men  seem  comparatively 
willing  that  women  should  enter  any  profession  except 
their  own.  The  lawyer  is  willing  that  they  should  be 
doctors,  and  the  doctor  thinks  they  may  plead  at  the  bar 
if  they  desire  to  do  so,  but  each  prefers  to  keep  them  out 
of  his  own  professional  garden-plot.  This  is  true  of 
ministers  with  added  emphasis,  for  here  we  have  the 
pride  of  sex  plus  the  pride  of  sacerdotalism.  —  Frances 
E.  Willard. 

In  1774  appeared  the  next  public  woman  preacher, 
Ann  Lee.  She  proclaimed  that  God  was  revealed  a  dual 
being,  male  and  female,  to  the  Jews ;  that  Jesus  revealed 
to  the  world  God  as  a  father ;  and  that  she,  Ann  Lee, 
" Mother  Ann,"  was  God's  revelation  of  the  Mother, 
"  the  bearing  spirit  of  the  creation  of  God."  She 
founded  the  sect  of  Shakers.  —  Helen  K.  Johnson. 

The  object  of  preaching  is  constantly  to  remind  man- 
kind of  what  mankind  are  constantly  forgetting ;  not  to 
supply  the  defects  of  human  intelligence,  but  to  fortify 
the  feebleness  of  human  resolutions.  —  Sydney  Smith. 

Whatever  is  preached  to  us,  and  whatever  we  learn, 
we  should  still  remember  that  it  is  man  that  gives  and 
man  that  receives  ;  it  is  a  mortal  hand  that  presents  it  to 
us,  it  is  a  mortal  hand  that  accepts  it.  —  Montaigne, 


380  HELPS  FOE   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

STENOGRAPHY    AND    TYPEWRITING. 

"  The  Moving  Finger  writes ;  and  having  writ, 
Moves  on  ;  nor  all  your  Piety  nor  Wit 
Shall  lure  it  back  to  cancel  half  a  Line, 
Nor  all  your  Tears  wash  out  a  Word  of  it." 

Omar  Khayyam. 

I  take  it  for  granted  that  if  you  determine  to  be  a 
stenographer  and  typewriter  you  will  desire  to  be  a  good 
one.  And  this  is  a  profession  that  is  not  overcrowded. 
If  you  were  to  weed  out  all  the  incompetents  and  leave 
only  the  really  good  and  capable  operators  you  would 
be  surprised  to  see  how  scarce  the  good  ones  are.  But 
the  incompetents  ?  Go  down  to  the  seashore  and  count 
the  grains  of  sand,  and  you  will  have  some  idea  of  their 
numbers.  Do  not  put  yourself  into  competition  with 
that  multitude ;  it  is  not  necessary.  By  incompetents  I 
mean  those  who  are  not  well  equipped  for  the  work. 

How  you  are  to  train  yourself  for  this  profession  de- 
pends upon  what  you  are  already.  If  you  have  not  at 
least  a  common-school  education,  the  first  thing  for  you 
to  do  is  to  get  it,  for  without  it  you  can  hardly  hope  to 
be  more  than  a  living  attachment  to  your  typewriting- 
machine.  That  much  at  least,  and  as  much  more  as  pos- 
sible. Yon  cannot  know  too  much  to  be  a  really  good 
stenographer  and  typewriter.  Keep  your  eyes  open,  and 
read  —  read  good  books  and  read  the  newspapers.  You 
must  know  what  is  going  on,  and  what  has  gone  on. 
Learn  something  about  national  and  State  politics  and 
politicians ;  something  about  literature,  something  about 


STENOGRAPHY  AND   TYPEWRITING.  381 

art,  something  about  mechanics,  something  about  —  about 
everything. 

"  Ah  ! "  I  think  I  hear  you  exclaim,  "  if  I  knew  as 
much  as  that  I  should  go  into  some  other  profession,  and 
make  more  money."  I  am  not  so  sure  about  that.  This 
is  a  profitable  profession  for  its  professors  who  know 
something.  I  am  not  trying  to  show  you  how  you  can 
become  a  little  pink  and  white  machine  at  seven  dollars 
a  week.  You  do  not  need  any  advice  for  that.  Thou- 
sands of  girls  get  that  far  without  any  help  at  all,  and 
apparently  without  any  education,  but  they  are  never 
more  than  machines  with  flexible  fingers.  Such  a  girl  is 
of  no  more  importance  to  her  employer  than  the  hook 
she  hangs  her  hat  upon.  Do  you  doubt  that  ?  Then  let 
us  look  at  the  inside  of  a  large  office  for  a  moment. 
Here  is  a  long  row  of  girls,  each  with  the  machine  in 
front  of  her,  each  playing  off  copy  with  the  keys.  As 
the  manager  looks  down  the  row  he  sees  one  vacant 
chair,  one  idle  machine.  It  is  nearly  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  Number  Four,  Miss  Jennie,  is  absent.  She 
may  be  ill,  or  she  may  have  "  thrown  up  her  job,"  in  the 
expressive  office  language ;  but  no  matter  which.  The 
cheap  girls  appear  and  disappear  very  readily  and  very 
often,  and  the  manager  knows  what  to  do.  He  steps  to 
the  telephone  and  calls  up  the  agency  he  deals  with. 
"  Please  have  me  a  steno-typewriter  here  at  eleven 
o'clock,"  he  says  over  the  wire.  "  Yes,  eleven  prompt. 
Female,  seven  dollars.  All  right,  good-by."  And  at 
eleven  prompt  the  "  female,  seven  dollars,"  is  at  the  door 
smiling,  and  in  two  minutes  more  she  is  at  work.  There 
is  not  even  a  ripple  upon  the  surface,  except  that  Num- 
ber Four  becomes  Miss  Annie  instead  of  Miss  Jennie. 
Miss  Jennie  may  be  very  ill  or  dead,  but  the  world  and 
the  office  move  on.     Is  not  that  pure  machine-work  ? 

You  do  not  have  to  consider  long  to  see  why  Number 


382  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Four,  Miss  Jennie,  is  cheap.  When  she  disappears  the 
manager  has  only  to  ring  the  telephone  bell  and  another 
Miss  Jennie  takes  her  place.  Or  if  the  whole  row  dis- 
appeared some  morning  a  new  row  of  girls  would  be  in 
their  chairs  within  an  hour.  Or  if  the  manager  adver- 
tised he  would  have  fifty  girls  at  the  door  to  choose 
from.  But  he  does  not  advertise  if  he  can  help  it,  be- 
cause an  advertisement  brings  so  many  applicants  that 
they  are  troublesome.  The  "  female,  seven  dollars,"  is 
plenty,  and  whatever  is  plenty  is  cheap. 

That  would  be  a  discouraging  picture  if  you  were  to  be 
a  "  female,  seven  dollars,"  but  you  are  not.  You  must 
fix  a  higher  mark  for  yourself  than  that.  There  is  a 
brighter  side,  and  if  we  have  chosen  the  right  morning 
in  the  office  we  can  see  it.  We  have  seen  already  how 
calm  the  manager  is  over  the  absence  of  Number  Four. 
There  was  nothing  in  that  to  ruffle  him,  for  such  things 
happen  nearly  every  day.  If  he  had  nothing  worse  than 
that  to  trouble  him  his  managerial  path  would  be  smooth. 
But  up  at  the  front  of  the  office  is  a  large  pen,  or  cage, 
or  stall,  made  of  polished  oak,  in  which  the  president  of 
the  company  has  his  desk,  with  his  own  private  stenog- 
rapher and  typewriter  at  one  side.  It  is,  in  short,  the 
president's  private  office,  with  thick  carpet  on  the  little 
floor ;  and  the  manager's  face  is  troubled  as  he  approaches 
the  door  and  is  reminded  that  Mrs.  Jones  also  is  ab- 
sent. Almost  time  for  the  president  to  arrive,  and  no 
Mrs.  Jones  !     There  is  something  to  bother  a  man. 

Mrs.  Jones  is  something  more  than  the  president's  pri- 
vate stenographer.  She  is  in  reality  his  private  secretary. 
But  as  a  private  secretary  might  reasonably  demand  a 
higher  salary  than  a  plain  stenographer  she  is  not  given 
the  title  of  secretary.  That  is  no  uncommon  thing  in 
offices.  She  is  not  only  a  valuable  employee,  she  is  al- 
most indispensable,  as  we  shall  see.     You  will  not  doubt 


STENOGRAPHY  AND   TYPEWRITING.         383 

when  you  meet  her  that  she  earns  her  twenty-five  dollars 
a  week,  and  that  the  president  would  rather  pay  her 
forty  dollars  than  lose  her. 

But  Mrs.  Jones  is  absent,  and  the  manager  is  worried. 
Can  he  go  to  the  telephone  and  order  up  another  Mrs. 
Jones  for  eleven  o'clock?  Indeed  he  cannot,  as  he 
knows  very  well.  Nor  can  he  get  another  Mrs.  Jones  by 
advertising,  in  less  than  weeks  of  trials  and  experiments. 
Nor  can  any  one  of  the  row  of  young  ladies  take  her 
place.     Why  not  ?     We  shall  see. 

Hark !  here  is  the  president,  and  his  highness  is 
shocked  at  seeing  Mrs.  Jones's  vacant  chair.  "  Come, 
come,  manager,  how 's  this  ?  Mrs.  Jones  not  here  ?  Have 
you  telephoned  her  ?  Not  on  the  line  ?  Have  you  sent  a 
messenger  ?  Well,  send  somebody  to  her  house  at  once. 
Let  him  take  a  hansom,  and  bring  her  along  if  possible. 
My,  my,  this  is  unfortunate !  There  's  that  Chicago 
matter  coming  up  to-day  and  she  has  the  whole  run  of 
it.  And  look  at  these  letters  !  Get  her  here  in  some 
way,  manager,  and  meanwhile  send  me  in  your  best  sten- 
ographer." 

He  looks  helplessly  at  the  pile  of  letters  on  his  desk. 
There  may  be  only  fifty,  or  perhaps  two  hundred  and 
fifty,  and  they  must  all  be  answered.  Some  are  very  im- 
portant and  very  pressing.  The  substitute  stenographer, 
female,  seven  dollars,  or  perhaps  eight  or  nine,  takes  the 
vacant  chair,  and  waits.  There  are  twenty  more  stenog- 
raphers outside,  but  the  whole  twenty  cannot  fill  the 
place  of  Mrs.  Jones. 

He  takes  up  one  of  the  letters,  a  drop  in  the  bucket, 
opens  and  reads  it,  and  begins  to  dictate : 

"Mr.  J.  B.  Haight,  16  Montpelier  avenue,  Detroit. 
Dear  Sir." 

"  J.  V.,  did  you  say,  sir  ?  5?  the  young  lady  asks. 

"No,  B.,  J.  B.     B  for  butter,   beans,  brains.     J.  B. 


384  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Haight,"  lie  snaps,  his  temper  warming  a  little  every 
time  he  looks  at  the  pile  of  letters. 

"  H-a-t-e,  sir  ?  "  she  asks. 

He  spells  the  name  properly  for  her  and  goes  on  to 
dictate  the  whole  letter  just  as  it  is  to  be  written,  as  he 
knows  he  must  do  to  this  stenographer.  That  takes  a 
quarter  of  an  hour,  including  the  questions  and  correc- 
tions; and  he  makes  a  mental  calculation  of  how  long 
fifty  letters  will  take  at  fifteen  minutes  each.  He  is  like 
a  steel  trap  before  the  first  letter  is  finished. 

Ah!  but  here  is  Mrs.  Jones.  Been  detained  by  a 
little  accident  that  is  soon  explained,  and  in  no  time  she 
is  in  her  own  chair  and  the  work  really  begins.  Before 
she  reads  a  line  she  rapidly  cuts  the  end  of  every  one  of 
the  envelopes.  Then  how  the  letters  fly !  Just  watch 
the  process. 

Without  a  second  wasted  she  takes  out  the  first  letter 
and  drops  the  envelope  into  the  basket,  and  reads  rapidly 
but  distinctly.  "  No ! "  says  the  president ;  and  she 
writes  a  big  "  no "  on  the  bottom  of  the  letter  with  a 
soft  black  pencil,  and  goes  on  with  her  next.  The  replies 
vary,  of  course,  but  they  are  all  very  brief.  "No,"  u  Yes," 
"  All  right,"  "  Yes,  glad  to  oblige  him,"  "  Cannot  make 
such  a  contract  in  the  present  state  of  the  market," 
"Will  take  it  under  consideration,"  "Very  sorry,  but 
impossible." 

So  the  answers  go,  not  at  all  such  answers  as  are  to 
reach  the  correspondents,  but  just  the  general  tone  of 
the  answers,  and  in  much  less  than  an  hour  the  letters 
are  out  of  the  way.  Any  one  who  could  read  and  write 
could  have  done  this  work  so  far,  but  not  what  follows. 
There  is  a  still  smaller  room  adjoining  the  president's 
private  office,  and  into  this  Mrs.  Jones  calls  one  stenog- 
rapher after  another,  only  one  at  a  time,  and  dictates  a 
few  letters  to  each.     The  single  word  "  no,"  for  instance, 


STENOGRAPHY  AND    TYPEWRITING.         385 

at  the  bottom  of  the  letter  she  is  answering  gives  her  the 
keynote,  and  she  dictates  a  polite  letter,  acknowledging 
the  receipt  of  the  inquiry,  expressing  the  company's 
regret  at  the  impossibility  of  complying  with  the  request, 
and  explaining,  perhaps,  why  it  is  impossible.  What- 
ever the  tone  of  the  answer,  it  is  well  expressed,  and  in 
the  most  polite  language,  even  if  the  letter  it  answers 
was  a  saucy  one.  Big  companies  do  not  send  saucy 
replies  to  saucy  letters,  because  it  is  not  good  policy,  and 
it  is  the  private  secretary's  business  to  do  everything 
politely.  The  president  may  show  by  his  brief  remark 
that  he  is  annoyed  by  a  correspondent,  but  no  matter ; 
the  answer  must  be  perfectly  cool  and  polite,  and  it  lies 
with  the  secretary  to  make  it  so.  Before  lunch  time 
answers  have  been  dictated  to  all  the  letters,  and  the 
girls  in  the  row  are  busy  writing  them  out,  Mrs.  Jones 
keeping  a  few  of  the  strictly  confidential  letters  to  write 
herself. 

After  luncheon  the  president  has  a  dozen  letters  to 
write  that  are  not  answers  to  letters  received.  For  each 
of  these  he  gives  Mrs.  Jones  only  the  substance.  "Tell 
Barnes  I  will  meet  him  in  the  St.  Charles  Hotel,  New 
Orleans,  next  Tuesday  morning,  at  11  o'clock."  She 
knows  who  Barnes  is,  knows  the  address,  and  wrrites  the 
letter,  and  many  others  in  the  same  way.  By  the  middle 
of  the  afternoon  all  the  letters  are  ready,  and  the  presi- 
dent signs  them,  and  Mrs.  Jones  puts  them  into  the 
proper  envelopes,  and  they  go  into  the  mail  box.  Mean- 
while the  Chicago  matter  has  come  up,  and  the  president 
has  found  all  the  papers  concerning  it  laid  out  in  order 
before  him.  The  statistics  needed  Mrs.  Jones  looked  up 
last  night  and  wrote  out.  She  has  talked  with  twenty 
callers  who  could  not  see  the  president  when  he  was 
busy.  She  has  been  discreetly  in  her  own  little  room 
when  the  president  was  talking  with  one  of  the  directors. 


386  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

She  has  "  taken  "  important  documents  at  their  dictation, 
and  written  them  out  herself.  She  has  made  a  list,  as 
far  as  possible,  of  the  important  matters  to  come  up  to- 
morrow. 

Do  you  see  the  difference  between  Mrs.  Jones  and  the 
"  female,  seven  dollars  "  ?  She  is  plain  to  the  eye,  com- 
pared with  some  of  the  other  girls,  and  remarkably  silent. 
She  hears  many  things,  but  tells  nothing.  She  under- 
stands her  business,  and  the  president  knows  that  she 
understands  it.  She  relieves  him  of  all  the  routine  work  ; 
it  is  only  the  brains,  the  experience,  that  he  need  furnish. 
Yet  it  is  very  likely  that  she  is  not  as  rapid  an  operator 
as  some  of  the  others.  Do  not  imagine  that  speed  is 
everything.  When  she  writes  a  letter  no  changes  need 
be  made.  You  do  not  see  her  running  to  the  big  dic- 
tionary, though  the  other  girls  have  almost  worn  a  track 
in  the  floor  going  to  the  dictionary-stand  to  see  how 
words  are  spelled.  There  are  a  thousand  Mrs.  Joneses  in 
New  York,  and  hundreds  in  other  large  cities,  and  you 
can  be  one  of  them  if  you  make  the  effort.  She  is  better 
educated  than  the  other  girls  in  the  office,  and  has  more 
general  information.  If  you  desire  to  be  a  Mrs.  Jones 
you  must  know  something. 

She  began  the  technical  training  for  her  work  much  as 
the  others  began,  and  as  you  must  begin.  The  operation 
of  the  typewriting  machine  needs  little  comment,  for  it 
is  purely  mechanical,  and  after  the  first  week  or  two  you 
will  need  nothing  but  practice.  But  stenography  is  not 
so  easily  learned,  though  it  is  much  easier  now  than  it 
was  a  few  years  ago,  because  the  methods  have  been 
simplified.  You  should  begin  your  stenography  first, 
by  all  means.  If  you  buy  a  good  work  on  stenography 
you  can  begin  your  technical  study  at  home.  There  are 
a  number  of  different  systems  that  you  can  choose 
among,  and  one  is  very  nearly  as  good  as  another.     For 


STENOGRAPHY  AND   TYPEWRITING.         387 

my  own  part,  I  prefer  Munson's,  but  it  is  entirely  a 
matter  of  choice.  Munson's  and  Pitman's  are  both  stand- 
ards. No  employer  will  ask  or  care  what  system  you 
use,  if  you  take  him  correctly. 

You  must  be  prepared  to  feel  discouraged  at  first  when 
you  begin  your  stenography.  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a 
stenographer  in  the  world  who  did  not  'feel  discouraged 
at  first.  The  dots  and  dashes  are  bewildering,  but  only 
at  the  start.  A  plain  dash  means  one  thing,  and  you 
put  a  little  curl  at  one  end  and  it  means  t-i-o-n,  tion,  and 
if  you  twist  the  curve  the  other  way  it  means  "  succes- 
sively." Below  the  line  it  means  one  thing,  above  the 
line  it  means  another.  But  the  bewilderment  soon  wears 
off  and  it  becomes  interesting.  In  a  few  months  you 
will  be  able  to  write  as  fast  as  a  person  speaking  slowly, 
but  probably  will  not  be  able  to  read  the  half  of  it.  A 
little  more  time  and  study  and  you  can  both  write  and 
read  it  readily.  Some  speakers,  you  will  soon  find,  are 
much  easier  to  "take"  than  others.  Go  to  church  and 
take  the  sermon,  selecting  a  preacher,  if  possible,  who 
speaks  slowly  and  distinctly.  Give  yourself  plenty  of 
practice.  Some  of  the  members  of  your  family  will  read 
for  you.    The  notebook  and  pencil  should  be  always  ready. 

If  you  can  attend  a  school  of  stenography,  so  much  the 
better.  It  is  not  positively  necessary,  but  it  makes  the 
work  easier  and  you  learn  faster.  You  can  find  such  a 
school  in  almost  any  town,  and  there  are  hundreds  of 
them  in  the  cities,  with  classes  in  the  morning,  the  after- 
noon, and  the  evening.  You  can,  however,  make  yourself 
an  expert  stenographer  with  no  teacher  but  the  book,  and 
at  the  same  time  be  learning  many  other  things,  for  after 
a  few  hours  of  stenography  you  must  change  to  some- 
thing else  to  rest  the  brain.  It  is  not  play,  it  is  work, 
but  work  that  you  are  capable  of.  It  is  necessary  work 
if  you  intend  to  be  a  stenographer  and  typewriter,  but  in 


388  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS    GIRLS. 

that  case  only.  It  is  not  necessary  in  any  other  calling 
that  you  are  likely  to  engage  in.  Stenography  is  neces- 
sary only  for  professional  stenographers.  If  you  desire 
to  be  a  newspaper  woman,  for  instance,  do  not  think  of 
wasting  your  time  over  it.  I  do  not.  know  of  a  city  edi- 
tor in  the  country  who  would  not  reply  "  that  makes  no 
difference  "  if  you  applied  to  him  for  a  position  with  the 
assertion,  "  I  am  an  expert  stenographer."  He  seldom 
wants  a  shorthand  report  of  anything  and  when  such  an 
occasion  arises  he  sends  to  a  stenographic  agency.  Do 
not  imagine  that  it  would  be  of  great  use  to  you  in  re- 
porting an  interview  ;  that  is  a  mistaken  notion.  Unless 
you  are  engaged  in  the  business  you  will  not  use  your 
shorthand  twice  a  year.  But  if  you  have  made  up  your 
mind  to  be  a  stenographer  and  typewriter,  be  a  good  one. 
Do  not  be  satisfied  to  be  a  girl  whose  place  can  be  filled 
in  half  an  hour  by  a  tap  of  the  telephone  bell.  Such 
places  are  not  worth  much.  You  will  find  it  a  good  pro- 
fession when  you  make  yourself  so  valuable  that  your 
absence  is  a  misfortune.  It  is  not  luck  but  ability  that 
puts  girls  into  good  positions  ;  and  whether  you  are  to  be 
a  Mrs.  Jones  or  a  "  female,  seven  dollars,"  rests  almost 
wholly  with  yourself. 

At  the  Cooper  Union  Free  Class  in  Stenography  and 
Typewriting  for  women,  in  New  York,  the  term  com- 
mences the  first  of  October  and  ends  about  the  middle  of 
May.  The  school  hours  are  from  9  A.M.  to  1  P.M  ,  every 
day  except  Saturday.  Applicants  must  be  at  least 
eighteen  years  of  age  and  not  over  thirty-five.  Application 
for  admission  may  be  made  between  August  1  and  Septem- 
ber 15.  Applicants  must  be  prepared  to  pass  an  exami- 
nation in  penmanship,  spelling,  composition,  and  writing 
from  dictation.  Munson's  system  of  stenography  is  used. 
Graduates  of  one  term  are  qualified  to  take  positions. 

Pew  tilings  are  impossible  to  diligence  and  skill.  —  Dr.  Sam- 
uel Johnson. 


SPEED,    SKILL,   AND   PATIENCE.  389 


CHAPTER  XXXIL 

SPEED,    SKILL,    AND    PATIENCE. 

No  one  need  be  deterred  from  taking  up  an  occupation 
that  seems  from  the  outside  to  be  over-crowded.  In- 
deed, it  is  hard  in  these  days  to  find  a  clear  field,  and  it 
is  only  by  superiority  of  industry  or  ability  that  one  can 
hope  to  win.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

Nothing  is  more  pleasing  to  God  than  a  hand  liberally 
opened,  and  a  tongue  strictly  silent.  —  Prentice. 

Neither  the  naked  hand  nor  the  understanding,  left  to 
itself,  can  do  much ;  the  work  is  accomplished  by  instru- 
ments and  helps,  of  which  the  need  is  not  less  for  the 
understanding  than  the  hand.  —  Bacon. 

A  printer  can  make  types  glorify  God.  —  Adler. 

It  is  well  to  know,  on  the  assurance  of  a  physiologist 
of  Dr.  Richardson's  standing,  that  the  notions  quite 
recently  current  with  regard  to  the  congenital  incapacity 
of  women  for  many  movements  which  come  naturally 
to  men  and  boys  are  erroneous,  the  practical  unskilful- 
ness  of  the  former  being  the  result  only  of  hereditary 
disuse  of  the  muscles  required  to  give  effect  to  such 
movements.  —  Emily  Pfeiffer. 

Let  a  man  choose  what  condition  he  will,  and  let  him 
accumulate  around  him  all  the  goods  and  all  the  gratifi- 


390  HELPS  FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

cations  seemingly  calculated  to  make  him  happy  in  it ; 
if  that  man  is  left  at  any  time  without  occupation  or 
amusement,  and  reflects  on  what  he  is,  the  meagre,  lan- 
guid felicity  of  his  present  lot  will  not  bear  him  up.  He 
will  turn  necessarily  to  gloomy  anticipations  of  the 
future  ;  and  except,  therefore,  his  occupation  calls  him 
out  of  himself  he  is  inevitably  wretched.  —  Pascal. 

It  is  probable  that  strenuous  work  can  hardly  be  kept 
up  by  persons  disabled  by  pressure  from  filling  their 
lungs  with  sufficient  air ;  and  with  the  freedom  of  the 
waist  one  chief  cause  of  the  excessive  emphasis  of  the 
bust  and  hips  in  modern  figures  would  disappear.  — 
Emily  Pfeiffer. 

The  world  has  never  yet  been  ruled  by  reason  ;  and  of 
all  creatures  next  to  a  newborn  child  a  reasonable 
woman  may  be  regarded  as  the  most  unfended.  With- 
out hysterics  as  a  set-off  against  the  violence  of  mascu- 
line temper  she  has  no  armor  but  her  truth,  no  sword 
but  of  the  spirit.  —  Emily  Pfeiffer. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  education,  in  taking  the  fet- 
ters from  the  soul  and  supplying  a  higher  ideal  of  wifely 
duty,  will  add  to  rather  than  diminish  the  pliancy  of 
woman  in  her  external  relations  to  man  as  his  companion 
and  helpmate.  —  Emily  Pfeiffer. 

The  want  of  occupation  is  no  less  the  plague  of  society 
than  of  solitude.  Nothing  is  so  apt  to  narrow  the  mind  ; 
nothing  produces  more  trifling,  silly  stories,  mischief- 
making  lies  ;  when  everybody  is  occupied  we  only  speak 
when  we  have  something  to  say,  but  when  we  are  doing 
nothing  we  are  compelled  to  be  always  talking;  and  of 
all  torments  that  is  the  most  annoying,  and  the  most 
dangerous.  — Rousseau. 


SPEED,    SKILL,    AND  PATIENCE.  391 

"  Typewriting  is  not  what  it  used  to  be/'  say  the 
women  who  have  followed  the  industry  since  it  began, 
and  even  admitting  that  it  is  a  far  more  remunerative 
occupation  than  many  others  at  which  self-supporting 
women  are  engaged,  the  pay  is  far  from  high.  — Helen 
C.  Candee. 

Typewriters  used  to  be  employed  only  by  large  and 
prosperous  firms,  and  few  were  to  be  had.  Naturally 
these  few  commanded  high  prices  for  their  labor,  and 
naturally,  too,  this  led  others  into  the  field  in  search  of 
like  remuneration.  Then  inventors  and  manufacturers 
produced  cheaper  typewriting  machines,  and  the  un- 
avoidable result  was  a  market  too  well  supplied  with 
operators  for  wages  to  continue  high.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

The  fact  nevertheless  stands  that  the  efficient  type- 
writer draws  high  pay  even  to-day,  and  that  "  there  is 
room  higher  up  "  in  this  calling  as  well  as  in  more  am- 
bitious ones. — Helen  C.  Candee. 

Most  girls  only  hope  to  support  themselves,  and  some 
only  for  the  few  years  that  intervene  between  school  and 
matrimony ;  but  there  are  others,  alas,  who  have  to  sup- 
port some  one  besides  themselves.  Both  of  these  know 
what  figure  their  expenses  reach,  and  must  determine 
before  commencing  if  a  typewriter's  wages  will  cover 
their  necessary  expenditures.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

When  a  typewriter  first  graduates  from  her  school  she 
receives  from  six  to  eight  dollars  a  week.  This  seems 
very  little,  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  she  is  abso- 
lutely inexperienced  in  any  but  school  work,  and  that 
her  employer  will  be  tried  with  her  inefficiency.  She 
may  go  to  a  business  house  where  trade  technicalities 


392  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

are  an  unknown  tongue,  or  to  a  broker's  office  where  the 
change  of  a  figure  in  stock  quotations  is  a  matter  of 
moment ;  and  her  employer  must  bear  with  her  faults 
and  continue  her  education.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

It  has  grown  to  be  almost  a  matter  of  financial  im- 
portance for  a  business  man  to  have  his  correspondence 
typewritten.  The  smaller  his  business  the  less  he  can 
afford  to  disregard  this,  lest  his  economy  lead  other  men 
to  fancy  him  unprosperous.  All  this  gives  opportunity 
to  beginners,  but  keeps  wages  low.  But  while  the  type- 
writer struggles  she  is  becoming  proficient  and  prepar- 
ing herself  for  a  better  place.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

The  positions  which  command  the  highest  wages  em- 
brace much  more  than  ordinary  typewriter  work.  Sten- 
ography is  the  sister  of  typewriting,  and  the  two  go 
hand  in  hand.  Besides  this  the  operator  must  have  a 
large  general  education  and  a  nice  knowledge  of  the 
technicalities  of  the  business  in  which  she  assists.  — 
Helen  C.  Candee. 

Twenty-five  dollars  a  week  is  the  sum  received  for 
superior  positions,  and  that  is  the  rare  maximum. 
Skilled  operators  get,  as  a  rule,  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
dollars  weekly,  and  to  get  this  must  be  more  than  ordi- 
narily equipped.  Indeed,  the  equipment  of  the  type- 
writer is  always  more  than  an  ordinary  one.  The  sight 
must  be  quick,  the  hands  pliable,  the  nervous  system  in 
good  order,  the  brain  active.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

Apart  from  permanent  positions  are  the  offices  where 
piece  work  is  done.  A  few  years  ago  this  was  unques- 
tionably the  way  to  earn  the  most  money,  but  times  have 
changed,  owing,  of  course,  to  the  general  practice  prevail- 


SPEED,    SKILL,   AND  PATIENCE.  393 

ing  among  business  men  of  considering  a  typewriter  as 
part  of  the  office  equipment.  But  it  is  nevertheless 
impossible  and  undesirable  for  all  to  take  positions,  and 
such  as  these  open  offices  or  do  work  at  home.  —  Helen 
C.  Candee. 

The  typewriter  can  build  up  for  herself  a  business  as  a 
visiting  amanuensis.  There  are  many  persons  in  these 
overcrowded  days  who  have  not  time  to  attend  to  corre- 
spondence, and  many  professional  men  and  women  who 
need  clerical  services  for  an  hour  each  day  or  three  times 
a  week.  Among  this  class  are  doctors,  who  want  bills 
made  out  and  lectures  copied.  It  is  not  at  all  unpleasant 
work  to  go  from  house  to  house  taking  the  orders  from 
the  several  employers.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  separate  typewriting  from 
stenography,  as  each  limps  but  lamely  along  without  the 
other.  No  one  should  contemplate  learning  to  use  the 
machine  without  knowing  how  to  take  down  dictation  in 
shorthand.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

The  census  of  1870  reported  only  seven  women  stenog- 
raphers in  the  United  States.  Now  the  number  of  per- 
sons earning  their  living  by  stenography  and  typewriting 
is  estimated  as  more  than  one  hundred  and  seventy-five 
thousand,  of  whom  two-thirds  are  women.  In  New  York 
fifteen  thousand  women  out  of  the  twenty-five  thousand 
stenographers  employed  is  probably  a  low  estimate.  — 
"  Occupations  for  Women." 

The  generally  received  statement  that  women  work  for 
less  than  men  (other  things  being  equal)  is  not  nearly  so 
true  as  it  seems  or  as  is  believed ;  and  the  difference, 
which  was  to  a  certain  extent  inevitable  in  the  beginning, 
is  lessening  all  the  time,  —  "  Occupations  for  Women." 


3-94  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Many  a  man  would  have  saved  himself  from  failure  if 
the  bright  daughter,  who  was  teaching  or  typewriting, 
had  been  behind  his  own  desk  or  counter.  — "  Occupa- 
tions for  Women." 

I  have  taken  much  interest  in  watching  the  women 
who  succeed,  and  I  have  come  to  one  conclusion  —  the 
woman  who  succeeds  is  the  woman  who  does  her  work 
to  the  best  of  her  ability,  who  is  properly  business-like, 
but  who  never  loses  what  might  be  called  the  arts  of 
femininity.  She  never  becomes  chummy  with  men.  She 
is  polite  to  them,  but  when  business  forces  her  to  talk 
with  them  she  never  lets  them  forget  that  she  is  a 
woman.  Not  because  she  whimpers  to  them  ;  not  because 
she  tries  to  fascinate  them  ;  but  simply  because  she  is 
herself.  —  " Bab,"  a  woman  correspondent. 

[The  selections  from  the  writings  of  Helen  Churchill 
Candee  given  in  this  and  other  chapters  are  from  her 
valuable  book,  "  How  Women  may  Earn  a  Living,"  pub- 
lished in  1900  by  the  Macmillan  Company.] 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FLORICULTURE.         395' 


CHAPTER   XXXIII.  . 

AGRICULTURE    AND    FLORICULTURE. 

"  If  a  woman  loves  farming  well  enough  to  make  a  success  of  it,  she  '11 
manage  to  get  a  farm  somehow,  and  when  she  does  get  it  you  may  be 
sure  she  '11  make  it  pay."  —  Mrs.  Taber  Willett. 

A  woman,  or  a  man  either,  must  have  a  natural  taste 
for  agricultural  pursuits  to  make  a  success  of  any  of 
them.  The  girl  who  likes  flowers,  but  prefers  the  cut 
variety  in  a  glass  on  the  table  or  the  artificial  kind  in 
her  hat,  and  who  finds  "  things  awfully  dull "  if  she  has 
nowhere  to  go  this  evening  or  to-morrow  evening,  would 
not  be  likely  to  make  a  successful  florist.  There  is  a 
difference  between  wearing  flowers  on  the  dress  and 
growing  them  in  beds.  If  your  only  pleasure  is  in  hav- 
ing "  something  going  on,"  and  being  in  town  or  in  the 
city  where  there  are  shop  windows  and  fashions  and 
other  new  things  to  look  at,  you  not  only  had  better  let 
farming  alone,  but  you  had  better  be  cautious  about  go- 
ing into  any  other  kind  of  business. 

It  is  not  hard  to  find  out  for  yourself  whether  you 
have  this  natural  taste.  If  you  have  it  very  strongly 
you  will  not  need  to  make  any  inquiries,  for  it  will  have 
shown  itself  before  you  are  old  enough  to  read  this 
volume.  If  you  delight  in  seeing  things  grow  you  will 
have  things  growing.  Do  not  mistake  a  dislike  of  the 
city  for  a  special  aptitude  for  country  life.  There  are  a 
great  many  people  in  every  city  who  are  thoroughly  dis- 
gusted with  city  life,  who  are  tired  of  seeing  the  brick 
walls  and  the  crowds  of  people,  tired  of  the  poverty  and 


396  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

the  everlasting  grind  of  business,  especially  tired  of  the 
office  and  its  work,  who  long  for  the  freedom  and  health 
of  the  country,  but  who  nevertheless  are  worse  fitted  for 
the  country  than  for  the  city,  and  who  would  soon  go 
hungry  on  the  best  of  farms. 

You  will  exclaim  at  my  speaking  of  the  poverty  of 
the  city,  no  doubt,  specially  if  you  have  always  lived  in 
the  country  or  in  small  towns.  Is  not  the  city  the  very 
abode  of  wealth  ?  Do  not  people  make  far  more  money 
in  the  cities  than  in  the  country  ?  No,  most  people  do 
not.  There  is  a  vast  aggregate  of  wealth  in  the  great 
cities,  almost  beyond  computation,  but  a  very  large  per- 
centage of  it  was  not  made  in  those  cities.  Great  cities 
are  magnets,  and  draw  to  themselves  the  wealth  of  the 
country  and  the  world.  Mr.  Smith  makes  a  great  fortune 
with  his  stock  ranch  or  his  mines  in  the  far  West,  and 
moves  to  New  York  or  Boston  or  Philadelphia,  where 
his  money  will  buy  many  comforts  and  luxuries  that  he 
could  not  buy  in  the  Northwest.  If  he  were  to  lose  his 
money  very  likely  he  could  not  earn  his  bread  and 
butter  in  the  city.  You  are  not  to  take  into  consid- 
eration those  people  who  have  made  their  money  else- 
where and  have  moved  into  the  city  to  spend  it.  The 
money  is  in  the  city,  but  your  coming  to  the  city  will 
not  make  it  yours.  There  is  more  poverty  in  the  cities 
than  anywhere  else,  and  it  is  not  all  in  rags.  A  man 
may  be  in  very  distressing  circumstances  in  New  York 
on  two  thousand  a  year.  A  clergyman,  for  instance,  with 
appearances  to  keep  up  on  that  salary,  is  continually 
ground  down  with  poverty.  He  has  not  a  cent  to  spend 
except  for  the  barest  necessaries.  There  are  many  such 
in  New  York,  and  many  more  without  the  two  thousand. 

Those  appearances  to  keep  up  are  a  large  part  of  the 
city's  expenses ;  and  if  you  come  to  the  city  yon  will 
find  that  you  have  them  as  well  as  the  clergyman,  no 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FLORICULTURE.  397 

matter  how  humble  your  position.  You  can  exist  in  a  city 
on  a  dollar  a  week  or  less,  but  you  will  not  and  should 
not  do  it.  You  must  live  in  a  respectable  neighbor- 
hood, and  pay  for  living  there.  You  must  dress  suitably, 
and  pay  for  it.  You  must  eat,  and  pay  for  it.  Food  does 
not  come  to  every  girl  as  a  matter  of  course  in  the  city  as 
it  does  on  the  farm.  Out  on  the  farm  ten  dollars  a  week 
looks  like  a  good  deal  of  money.  In  the  city  it  will  give 
you  a  place  to  sleep,  and  enough  to  eat  and  wear,  but  no 
more.  In  brief,  when  are  you  the  richer  —  when  you 
make  a  thousand  a  year  in  the  city  and  spend  it  to  live, 
or  when  you  make  three  dollars  a  week  in  the  country 
and  keep  it  ?  But  a  thousand  a  year  made  and  spent  is 
not  as  bad  as  a  thousand  made  and  eleven  hundred 
spent.  How  many  teachers,  typewriters,  women  in  every 
occupation  in  the  large  cities,  do  you  think,  are  trying  to 
solve  the  old-  problem  of  paying  eleven  hundred  out  of  a 
thousand  ?  Eleven  into  ten  you  can't,  and  debt  to  carry. 
The  fitness  of  women,  some  women,  for  all  sorts  of 
farming  industries  is  now  so  well  understood  and  admit- 
ted that  it  needs  no  argument.  All  women  cannot  be 
successful  farmers,  but  neither  can  all  men.  For  real 
out-and-out  farming  your  sex  is  a  little  drawback  at  the 
beginning ;  it  makes  it  harder  for  you  to  start,  but  there 
is  no  difficulty  in  the  way  that  cannot  be  overcome. 
You  cannot,  like  a  boy,  hire  yourself  out  to  Farmer 
Thompson  for  five  dollars  a  month  and  your  "keep," 
sleep  in  his  garret,  plow  his  fields,  feed  his  cattle,  chop 
his  wood,  and  do  his  chores.  If  that  is  an  advantage,  the 
boy  has  that  advantage  over  you.  He  learns  the  rudi- 
ments ;  and  in  every  trade  the  rudiments  are  the  hardest 
part.  You  do  not  see  Farmer  Thompson  himself  doing 
these  things,  and  no  more  need  you  do  them  when  you 
become  a  farmer.  You  must  know  how  these  things 
should  be  done,  and  you  can  learn  that  by  seeing  them 


398  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

done.  In  a  printing-office  they  keep  a  new  boy  a  year  at 
washing  rollers,  which  is  very  dirty  work  that  can  be 
learned  in  half  an  hour.  Do  you  think  he  is  any  better 
printer  afterward  for  spending  a  year  at  the  rollers  ? 
The  contractor  knows  how  a  man  should  carry  bricks  up 
a  ladder  ;  but  he  does  not  carry  them  up  himself.  There 
are  thousands  of  good  farmers  in  this  country  who  never 
plowed  a  field  in  their  lives.  In  the  North  the  farmer 
keeps  his  own  hand  at  the  plow,  generally,  but  in  the 
South  he  seldom  does.  That  is  only  a  difference  in  cus- 
tom, but  it  shows  that  it  is  not  absolutely  necessary  for  a 
farmer  to  plow  or  mow  his  own  fields. 

There  are  so  many  openings  for  women  in  various 
kinds  of  agricultural  pursuits  that  I  doubt  whether  I  can 
name  them  all,  but  of  your  own  knowledge  you  can  add 
to  the  list.  There  is  fruit-growing,  for  instance,  which 
is  an  excellent  thing  for  a  girl  to  think  of.  The  best 
openings  that  I  know  of  for  this  work  are  in  the  South, 
where  land  is  comparatively  cheap,  and  living  is  cheap. 
Not  in  the  far  South,  necessarily,  but  in  the  middle  belt 
—  no  farther  off,  if  you  like,  than  the  eastern  shore  of 
Maryland  or  Virginia;  or,  if  you  choose,  in  northern 
Georgia,  which  is  a  great  peach  country,  or  in  southern 
Georgia,  where  they  grow  pears  and  melons,  and  many 
other  things.  Not  oranges  in  Florida,  if  that  notion  has 
ever  been  floating  before  your  eyes.  The  danger  of 
freezing  is  too  great,  and  the  other  drawbacks  too  many. 
There  are  other  openings  in  Florida  if  you  have  a  liking 
for  that  State,  but  you  will  be  wise  to  let  oranges  alone. 

I  speak  in  the  first  place  of  the  South  because  there 
the  weather  is  wanner,  and  your  fruit  will  ripen  earlier 
than  it  will  ripen  in  the  North.  And  earliness  is  a  very 
important  factor.  The  great  markets  are  in  the  North, 
but  if  you  grow  your  fruit  in  the  North,  where  it  is  plenty 
in  its  season,  you  must  be   content  with  small  returns. 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FLORICULTURE.  399 

Grow  it  in  the  warmer  South,  and  have  it  in  the  Northern 
markets  a  month  before  the  Northern  fruit  is  ripe.  Sit- 
uation is  a  still  more  important  factor,  for  earliness  and 
many  other  things  depend  upon  the  situation.  There 
are  a  thousand  things  for  you  to  consider  in  selecting 
your  situation. 

Never  locate  yourself  where  you  miist  depend  upon 
one  transportation  line  to  carry  your  crops  to  market.  I 
know  various  parts  of  the  country  pretty  well,  and  the 
farmers  in  them,  and  in  my  opinion  there  should  be  ab- 
solutely no  exception  to  this  rule.  If  you  must  depend 
upon  one  railroad  you  will  be  working  all  your  life  for 
that  railroad.  Both  rail  and  water  communication  is  the 
best.  Two  railroads  within  reach  will  do,  until  they 
make  a  combination  and  put  up  their  prices.  But  a 
waterway  is  a  safeguard  for  the  farmer  and  fruit-grower 
that  cannot  be  equalled.  I  had  that  in  mind  in  mention- 
ing the  eastern  shore  of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  Other 
geographical  situations  are  as  good,  no  doubt,  but  none 
could  be  better.  If  you  look  at  the  map  you  will  see 
how  the  eastern  ends  of  both  States  are  cut  off  by  Ches- 
apeake Bay,  and  how  the  entire  bay  coast  is  indented 
with  smaller  bays  and  inlets.  There  are  many  small 
rivers,  too.  Fruit-growing  has  increased  to  such  an  ex- 
tent in  that  region  that  every  one  of  those  smaller  bays 
and  inlets  has  its  steamboat  service  two,  three,  perhaps  six 
times  a  week.  Every  little  river  is  explored  by  steam- 
boats. On  Monday  it  is  the  steamer  of  one  company,  on 
Tuesday  of  another,  and  so  on.  There  is  competition, 
and  competition  means  low  freights.  These  little  steam- 
ers do  not  come  north,  but  deliver  their  freight  at  near- 
by shipping-points,  such  as  Norfolk  or  Baltimore.  The 
fruit-grower  there  has  the  advantage  of  the  low  freights 
caused  by  competition.  There  are  railroads  too,  and 
their  freight  rates  are  kept  down  by  the  boats.     But  take 


400  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

away  the  water  communication,  and  up  would  go  their 
prices  —  and  cheap  freights  make  the  difference  between 
prosperity  and  bankruptcy  for  the  fruit-grower.  A  pro- 
ducer in  such  a  situation  as  this  is  absolutely  indepen- 
dent of  local  transportation  companies ;  he  can,  if  nec- 
essary, buy  or  charter  a  sloop  to  carry  his  goods  to  the 
nearest  large  shipping-point,  where  rates  are  always 
reasonable. 

This  great  question  of  freights,  which  means  accessi- 
bility to  market,  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  all  agri- 
cultural pursuits,  not  merely  in  the  fruit-raising  branch. 
If  you  go  into  the  fruit  business,  or  any  other  agricult- 
ural business,  you  must  not  only  produce  the  fruit,  but 
you  must  get  it  to  a  good  market,  where  it  will  bring 
good  prices.  Nearness  to  a  market,  remember,  means  good 
facilities  for  reaching  the  market.  Your  land  may  be  a 
hundred  miles  away  from  the  market  and  yet  be  practi- 
cally nearer,  if  it  has  good  transportation  facilities,  than 
a  farm  ten  miles  from  the  city  from  which  everything 
must  be  hauled  in  wagons. 

There  is  no  part  of  the  fruit  business  that  a  woman 
cannot  do  with  her  own  hands  at  the  beginning,  and  no 
part  of  it  that  she  cannot  ably  oversee  when  it  grows  too 
large  for  one  pair  of  hands.  Planting  the  trees,  pruning, 
nursing  them,  spraying  them  with  insecticides  when  they 
need  it,  picking  the  fruit,  sorting  and  shipping  it,  all  may 
be  done  by  an  ambitious  girl  or  woman  —  all  are  done  by 
women  in  nearly  every  fruit-growing  part  of  the  country. 
Still  fruit-growing  is  only  one  opening  out  of  many. 
Have  you  ever  thought  of  raising  flowers  for  sale  ?  This 
industry  may  be  started  on  a  small  scale,  requiring 
scarcely  any  capital,  and  perhaps  in  your  own  home.  As 
the  business  grows  your  capital  will  grow,  and  by  the 
time  you  need  cold  frames  and  glass  houses  you  will  be 
able  to  pay  for  them.     A  business  that  grows  to  great 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FLORICULTURE.  401 

proportions  from  a  modest  beginning  is  much  more  valua- 
ble than  one  that  starts  with  a  flourish  on  borrowed  capi- 
tal. Maybe  you  know  how  hard  it  is  to  save  a  hundred 
dollars  ?  But  it  is  not  as  hard  to  save  a  hundred  for 
your  own  bank  account  as  it  is  to  raise  fifty  to  pay  a 
debt.  Do  not  borrow  the  money  from  papa  for  your 
first  little  glass  house,  but  earn  it  in  the  business. 
There  are  some  situations  in  which  you  cannot  sell 
flowers,  but  in  most  places  you  can.  If  there  are  sum- 
mer visitors  in  the  town  you  can  sell  to  them,  for  they 
have  do  chance  to  raise  their  own  flowers.  A  summer 
hotel  near  by  is  almost  sure  to  make  business  ;  the  hotel 
wants  flowers  for  the  tables,  and  the  guests  want  flowers. 
If  you  are  near  a  large  city  you  are  sure  to  find  a  market. 
Are  you  too  proud  to  take  a  basket  of  cut  flowers  on 
your  arm  and  carry  them  to  market  ?  Somebody  must 
do  it  if  you  are  to  sell  them.  If  you  are  in  the  country 
I  think  your  mother  does  not  hesitate  to  take  a  basket 
of  eggs  to  the  store.  If  you  are  in  love  with  the  busi- 
ness you  will  be  proud  of  your  basket  of  flowers,  and  not 
ashamed  to  be  seen  in  their  company. 

A  few  beds,  or  ground  enough  to  make  them  in,  and 
some  seeds  and  cuttings  and  a  few  simple  tools  are  all 
you  need  to  test  your  ability  as  a  grower  and  seller  of 
flowers.  No  dangerous  financial  venture  need  be  made. 
After  you  have  learned  to  grow  flowers  in  the  open  air 
will  be  time  enough  for  you  to  think  of  growing  them 
under  glass,  which  is  far  more  expensive,  and  requires 
capital.  The  only  part  of  the  work  that  may  be  too 
hard  for  your  own  hands  is  the  spading,  but  that  depends 
upon  your  strength  and  upon  the  exercise  you  have  had 
in  the  garden.  Do  not  undertake  much  spading  in  the 
beginning,  for  it  brings  new  muscles  into  play,  and  they 
must  be  hardened  gradually.  After  those  muscles  are 
trained   spading   is   not   specially   hard    work.     A   few 


402  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

months  ago  I  saw  a  woman  spading  a  field  that  must 
have  contained  twenty  acres,  and  a  quarter  of  it  was 
done.  But  that  was  in  Italy,  and  I  had  only  a  glimpse 
of  her  from  the  car  window,  on  the  beautiful  railway 
from  Koine  to  Naples.  I  noticed  that  she  did  not  stop 
her  work  to  look  at  the  train  as  it  passed.  A  man  would 
have  stopped  to  look. 

That  woman  spaded  the  field  because  she  had  neither 
horse  nor  plow,  and  because  her  husband,  doubtless,  was 
busy  talking  Italian  politics  in  the  nearest  town.  If  you 
spade  your  own  flower  beds  it  will  be  because  you  have 
no  gardener  or  big  brother  at  command.  But  you  can  do 
it  if  necessary  by  going  slowly  and  doing  only  a  little  at 
first.  You  will  have  a  greater  affection  for  the  bed  you 
spade  yourself  and  every  stroke  of  work  you  do  upon  it 
will  increase  your  liking  for  it  if  you  are  in  love  with  the 
work. 

1  have  heard  of  women  market-gardeners,  and  believe 
that  women  can  become  market-gardeners  as  well  as  men, 
but  that  is  a  branch  of  agriculture  that  you  should  grow 
up  into  rather  than  make  an  early  start  in.  It  is  a  skilled 
industry  that  not  one  professional  gardener  in  a  hundred 
is  fitted  for,  requiring  great  business  tact  as  well  as  gard- 
ening skill  and  the  ability  to  manage  workmen.  There  is 
a  great  difference  between  gardening  at  home  and  profes- 
sional market-gardening.  In  the  late  Peter  Henderson's 
little  book  entitled  "  Gardening  for  Profit  "  you  will  find 
a  great  deal  of  information  about  market-gardening. 
The  work  is  not  too  hard  for  a  healthy  girl  or  woman,  but 
the  financial  risk  is  too  great  for  a  beginner,  and  the  capital 
required  is  considerable.  It  seems  a  simple  matter  to 
raise  a  field  of  vegetables  on  Long  Island  and  sell  them 
in  New  York,  but  it  requires  knowledge  and  experience 
to  do  it  profitably.  You  may  have  the  best  of  vegetables, 
but  if  you  do  not  get  them  to  market  on  just  the  right 


AGRICULTURE  AND   FLORICULTURE.  403 

day,  almost  at  just  the  right  hour,  your  profit  is  gone. 
You  can  become  a  market-gardener  if  you  will  it,  but  it 
is  a  business  to  work  into  gradually. 

There  is  some  farming  operation  in  your  own  neighbor- 
hood that  can  be  made  profitable,  if  you  can  find  it. 
Many  women  have  made  money  by  raising  strawberries. 
In  some  sections  women  own  and  manage  frog  farms  — 
raising  frogs  for  market.  Other  women  have  terrapin 
farms,  particularly  on  and  near  the  shores  of  Chesapeake 
Bay.  And  there  are  many  cotton  plantations  owned  and 
managed  entirely  by  women.  If  you  are  a  Northern  girl 
cotton-planting  is  a  long  way  off,  but  it  is  an  occupation 
so  well  suited  to  women  that  I  must  not  leave  it  unmen- 
tioned.  Cotton-planters,  whether  men  or  women,  do  no 
work  with  their  own  hands,  but  they  must  have  heads. 
They  must  be  good  managers,  with  skill  and  industry 
in  looking  after  the  details.  In  the  southern  part  of 
Georgia,  where  land  is  cheap  and  the  climate  well  suited 
to  cotton-growing,  some  Northern  women  are  as  comforta- 
bly situated  on  their  own  cotton  plantations  as  any  self- 
supporting  woman  can  be  situated  in  the  world.  Let  me 
take  one  of  these  plantations  for  an  example,  one  that  I 
visited  several  years  ago,  and  try  to  show  you  how  a 
woman  cotton-planter  lives  and  thrives.  This  plantation 
contains  nearly  a  thousand  acres,  but  less  than  half  the 
land  is  fit  for  cultivation,  the  remainder  being  in  timber, 
overflowed  land,  or  land  apportioned  to  the  colored  work- 
men for  their  own  cultivation.  These  colored  men  and 
their  families  live  in  cabins  about  the  place,  and  the 
owner's  house  is  not  grand,  but  exceedingly  comfortable 
in  that  climate.  Of  the  four  hundred  acres,  we  will  say, 
that  are  fit  for  cultivation,  two  hundred  are  given  to 
cotton  and  two  hundred  to  corn.  A  certain  quantity  of 
corn  is  given  to  each  laborer  every  week  as  a  part  of  his 
wages,  and  the  remainder  fattens  the  hogs.     Hogs  and 


404  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

cotton  go  as  naturally  together  as  hogs  and  corn.  Hundreds 
of  them  roam  and  fatten  on  the  otherwise  waste  land, 
and  in  the  winter  they  are  killed  and  go  into  the  smoke- 
house. Smoked  bacon  is  a  standard  article  of  commerce, 
always  salable  in  the  neighboring  town  and  in  larger 
market^.  A  certain  proportion  goes  to  the  village  stores 
every  year  to  pay  for  all  the  groceries  and  other  supplies 
of  the  plantation,  and  the  remainder  (except  what  is 
eaten  on  the  spot)  is  sold  to  larger  dealers  for  cash. 
That  cash  from  the  surplus  bacon  pays  every  other 
expense  of  the  plantation  or  its  owners  —  labor,  seed, 
everything.  The  corn  is  turned  into  bacon  and  the  bacon 
is  turned  into  cash.  "  There  's  always  a  year's  supply  of 
meat  ahead  in  that  smokehouse,"  the  lady  told  me.  A 
years  supply  of  meat !  Think  of  that  when  you  count 
the  nickels  saved  for  to-morrow's  lunch.  So  the  cotton 
is  clear  profit.  A  slip-shod  planter  raises  one  bale  of 
cotton  on  three  acres  of  land.  By  the  very  best  cultivation 
on  the  best  land  a  bale  may  be  raised  on  one  acre.  This 
lady  averages  one  bale  to  two  acres.  A  bale  of  cotton 
weighs  five  hundred  pounds,  and  the  lowest  imaginable 
price  is  five  cents  a  pound,  or  twenty-five  dollars  for 
a  bale.  One  hundred  bales  from  the  two  hundred  acres 
of  land  are  sure  to  produce  two  thousand  five  hundred 
dollars,  at  the  lowest  price,  and  may  sell  for  much  more. 
And  with  this  profit  goes  not  only  what  we  call  "  a 
living."  but  the  greatest  profusion  of  food.  A  woman 
who  has  such  a  plantation,  and  knows  how  to  manage  it, 
need  wish  for  little  more. 

It  is  too  early  by  many  months,  perhaps  by  several 
years,  for  full  statistics  from  the  census  of  1900;  but 
the  census  report  for  1890  gives  the  number  of  men  and 
women  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits  in  the  whole 
country  in  that  year.  How  many  women  farmers,  planters, 
and  overseers  do  you  think  there  were  in  the  United 


AGRICULTURE  AND   FLORICULTURE.  405 

States  in  1890  ?  A  few  scores,  perhaps,  — one  here  and 
there  in  every  State  ?  There  were  226,427,  working  beside 
the  5,055,130  male  farmers,  planters,  and  overseers,  or 
abont  4J  women  to  every  100  men.  And  there  were  in 
the  same  year  447,104  women  laborers  on  farms,  com- 
pared with  the  2,556,957  male  laborers,  .or  nearly  fifteen 
women  to  every  one  hundred  men. 

In  many  of  the  States  are  agricultural  colleges,  to  some 
of  which  girls  are  admitted  on  equal  terms  with  boys. 
There  is  much  to  be  learned  in  any  of  them  that  is  of 
value  to  the  tiller  of  the  soil.  And  even  though  you 
may  never  attend  such  an  institution  it  is  well  to  know 
upon  what  principles  they  are  conducted  and  what  are 
the  chief  branches  of  study.  If  you  cannot  attend  an 
agricultural  college  you  can  at  least  know  what  you  would 
be  taught  there,  and  take  up  some  of  the  studies  at  home. 
Following  are  the  prospectus  and  courses  of  study  of  the 

COLLEGE    OF   AGRICULTURE    OF    CORNELL 
UNIVERSITY. 

The  College  of  Agriculture  comprises  the  Departments  of  General 
Agriculture ;  Animal  Industry  and  Dairy  Husbandry ;  Horticulture 
and  Pomology;  Agricultural  Chemistry;  General  and  Economic 
Entomology;  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station,  and  University 
Extension  "Work  in  Agriculture. 

EQUIPMENT. 

The  University  grounds  consist  of  two  hundred  and  seventy  acres 
of  land,  bounded  on  the  north  and  south  by  Fall  Creek  ravine  and 
Cascadilla  Gorge  respectively.  One  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres 
of  the  arable  land  are  devoted  to  the  use  of  the  Agricultural 
Department.  This  part  of  the  domain  is  managed  with  not  only  a 
view  to  securing  profit,  but  also  to  illustrate  the  best  methods  of 
general  agriculture.  A  four  years'  rotation  is  practised  on  the 
principal  fields  :  one  year  of  clover,  one  of  corn,  one  of  oats  or 
barley,  and  one  of  wheat.  A  dairy  of  twenty  cows,  a  flock  of 
sheep,  some  fifteen  horses  and  colts,  and  other  live  stock  are  kept 
upon  the  farm.     Nearly  all  of  these  animals  are  grades,  bred  and 


406  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

reared  with  the  single  view  of  giving  object  lessons  which  can  be 
practised  with  profit  by  the  students  on  their  return  to  their  homes. 
A  four-story  barn  provides  for  housing  all  the  animals,  machinery, 
tools,  hay,  grain,  and  manures.  The  stationary  thresher,  feed- 
cutter,  chaffer,  and  other  machinery  are  driven  by  steam  power. 
The  barn  also  furnishes  many  facilities  for  carrying  on  investiga- 
tions in  feeding  and  rearing  all  classes  of  domestic  animals. 

The  barn  is  also  furnished  with  a  well-equipped  piggery  and  tool 
house.  Not  far  from  the  main  barn  have  been  constructed  four 
buildings  with  suitable  yards  and  appliances  for  incubating  eggs 
and  rearing  domestic  fowls. 

The  agricultural  class  room  is  provided  with  a  collection  of  grains 
and  grasses,  implements  of  horse  and  hand  culture,  and  various  ap- 
pliances for  carrying  on  instruction  and  conducting  investigation. 
The  whole  plant  is  managed  with  a  view  to  the  greatest  economy 
consistent  with  the  greatest  efficiency  in  imparting  instruction. 

The  Dairy  Building,  a  two-story  stone  structure  45  by  90  feet,  was 
built  from  an  appropriation  of  $50,000  by  the  Legislature  of  1893. 
It  provides  lecture  rooms,  laboratories,  and  offices,  besides  two  large 
rooms  for  butter  and  cheese  making,  both  of  which  are  fully 
equipped  with  modern  machinery  and  appliances.  Automatic  elec- 
trical apparatus  for  controlling  the  temperature  in  cheese-curing 
rooms,  refrigerator  room,  lockers,  and  bath  rooms  are  also  provided. 
The  whole  building  is  thoroughly  heated  and  ventilated,  and  power 
is  furnished  by  a  sixty  horse-power  boiler  and  a  twenty-five  horse- 
power Westinghouse  engine. 

The  Agricultural  Museum  occupies  rooms  on  the  second  floor  of 
Morrill  Hall.  It  contains  :  1.  The  Rau  Models,  being  one  hundred 
and  eighty-seven  models  of  ploughs  made  at  the  Royal  Agricultural 
College  of  Wurtemburg  under  the  direction  of  Professor  Rau,  and 
arranged  and  classified  by  him  for  the  Paris  Exposition  of  1867.  2. 
Engravings  and  photographs  of  cultivated  plants  and  animals,  ob- 
tained at  the  various  agricultural  colleges  of  Europe.  3.  A  collec- 
tion of  the  cereals  of  Great  Britain,  being  a  duplicate  of  that  in  the 
Royal  Museum  of  Science  and  Art  at  Edinburg,  presented  by  the 
British  government.  4.  A  collection  of  agricultural  seeds.  5.  A 
large  number  of  models  representing  a  great  variety  of  agricultural 
implements.  The  class  room  has  been  provided  with  special  sets  of 
diagrams  and  other  appliances  designed  to  illustrate  the  lectures  on 
agriculture. 

The  agricultural  library  contains  files  of  bulletins  and  reports 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FLORICULTURE.         407 

from  the  experiment  stations  of  the  United  States  and  Canada ;  it 
has  also  a  file  of  the  publications  of  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture.  The  leading  works  on  agriculture  are  on  the  shelves. 
The  exchange  list  includes  the  principal  agricultural  periodicals 
published  in  this  country. 

The  Horticultural  Department  Equipment  comprises  about  ten 
acres  of  land  variously  planted,  forcing-houses,, and  a  museum. 

The  gardens  and  orchards  contain  the  fruits  which  thrive  in  the 
North  in  considerable  variety',  and  in  sufficient  quantity  to  illustrate 
methods  of  cultivation.  Nursery  grounds  are  also  attached,  in 
which  are  growing  many  species  of  economic  plants  from  various 
parts  of  the  world.  The  fruits  comprise  something  more  than  sixty 
varieties  of  grapes,  over  fifty  of  apples,  fifty  of  plums,  and  other 
fruits  in  proportion.  A  dwarf  pear  orchard  of  300  trees  and  other 
representative  orchards  comprise  the  remainder  of  the  field  space, 
excepting  such  as  is  set  aside  for  vegetable  gardening  and  floricul- 
ture. There  is  also  a  collection  of  one  hundred  varieties  of  hardy 
roses  and  various  other  ornamental  and  interesting  plants. 

The  forcing-houses  are  eight  in  number  and  cover  about  6,000 
square  feet  of  ground.  These,  in  connection  with  store  rooms  and 
pits,  afford  excellent  opportunities  for  nursery  practice,  for  the 
study  of  the  forcing  of  all  kinds  of  vegetables,  and  for  some  kinds 
of  floriculture.  A  laboratory  with  space  for  forty  students  is  used 
for  instruction  in  propagation  of  plants,  pollination,  and  the  com- 
moner greenhouse  operations.  There  is  also  a  mushroom  hous- 
14  by  80  feet  and  a  reading-room  for  horticultural  students. 

The  museum  comprises  two  unique  features  —  the  garden  her- 
barium and  the  collection  of  photographs.  The  herbarium,  which 
is  rapidly  assuming  large  proportions,  containing  at  present  over 
11,000  sheets,  is  designed  to  comprise  all  varieties  of  all  cultivated 
species  of  plants,  and  it  is  an  indispensable  aid  to  the  study  of 
garden  botany  and  the  variation  of  plants.  The  collection  of 
photographs  comprises  over  5,000  negatives,  with  prints  repre- 
senting fruits,  flowers,  vegetables,  illustrative  landscapes,  glass 
houses,  and  horticultural  operations.  A  very  large  collection  of 
machinery  and  devices  for  the  spraying  of  plants  is  at  the  disposal 
of  students.  Charts  and  specimens  in  some  variety  complete  the 
museum  and  collection. 

The  library  has  files  of  many  of  the  important  horticultural  and 
botanical  periodicals  and  a  good  collection  of  general  horticultural 
literature. 


408  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

The  Entomological  Cabinet  contains,  in  addition  to  many  exotic 
insects,  specimens  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  more  common  species 
of  the  United  States.  These  have  been  determined  by  specialists, 
and  are  accessible  for  comparison.  The  collection  includes  many 
sets  of  specimens  illustrative  of  the  metamorphoses  and  habits  of 
insects.  The  laboratory  is  also  supplied  with  a  large  collection  of 
duplicates  for  the  use  of  students  and  is  equipped  with  microscopes 
and  other  apparatus  necessary  for  practical  work  in  entomology. 

The  insectary  of  the  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  affords 
facilities  to  a  limited  number  of  advanced  students  for  special  in- 
vestigations in  the  study  of  the  life  history  of  insects,  and  for  ex- 
periments in  applied  entomology. 

The  Chemical  Department  is  housed  in  a  three-story  brick  build- 
ing 126  feet  in  length  and  of  an  average  width  of  60  feet.  The 
department  is  liberally  equipped  with  varied  appliances  necessary  to 
give  instruction  to  four  hundred  students  in  general  and  agricul- 
tural Chemistry. 

ADMISSION. 

The  following  subjects  are  required  for  admission :  English, 
Physiology  and  Hygiene,  History  [the  student  must  offer  two  of 
the  four  following  divisions  in  history,  (a)  American,  (b)  English, 
(c)  Grecian,  (d)  Roman],  Plane  Geometry,  Elementary  Algebra, 
and  either  A,  B,  or  C  as  below. 

A.  Greek  and  Latin. 

B.  Latin  and  either  Advanced  French  or  Advanced  German. 

C.  Advanced  French,  Advanced  German,  and  Advanced  Mathe- 
matics. 

An  equivalent  of  any  one  of  the  three  groups,  A,  B,  and  C,  may 
be  offered,  provided  five  counts  are  offered.  Latin  counts  3,  Greek, 
French,  and  German  2  each.  Advanced  Mathematics  (Solid  Geom- 
etry, Advanced  Algebra,  Plane  and  Spherical  Trigonometry)  1, 
provided,  however,  that  the  student  before  graduation  must  have 
passed  in  one  modern  language  and  in  advanced  Mathematics  if 
they  were  not  offered  for  entrance. 

An  alternative  requirement  instead  of  Advanced  Mathematics 
may  be  offered  in  Physics,  Chemistry,  Botany,  Geology,  and 
Zoology. 

For  admission  to  the  freshman  class  communications  should  be 
addressed  to  the  Registrar. 

For  admission  to  advanced   standing  from  other  colleges   and 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FLORICULTURE. 


409 


universities,  all  communications  should  be  addressed  to  the  Director 
of  the  College  of  Agriculture. 

For  admission  to  graduate  work  and  candicacy  for  advanced  de- 
grees communications  should  be  addressed  to  the  Dean  of  the  Uni- 
versity Faculty. 

INSTRUCTION. 
PLAN  OF    INSTRUCTION. 

The  instruction  in  the  College  of  Agriculture  is  comprised  in  the 
following  general  lines  : 

The  Regular  Course  in  Agriculture  covers  a  period  of  four  years. 
It  is  designed  to  afford  an  education  as  broad  and  liberal  as  that 
given  by  other  departments  of  the  University,  and  leads  to  the 
degree  of  Bachelor  of  the  Science  of  Agriculture  (B.  S.  A.). 


THE  COURSE  IN  AGRICULTURE  LEADING  TO  THE  DEGREE  OF 
BACHELOR  OF  THE  SCIENCE  OF  AGRICULTURE. 


No. 
Course. 

1st 
Term. 

2d 
Term. 

1,2 

3 

3 

1,3 

31 

32 

1 

3 

3 

1 

2 

2s 

1 

3 

3 

1 

1 

— 

1 

24 

45 

2 

2 

2 

2a 

2 

2 

16 

4 

4 

3d 
Term. 


Freshman  Year. 

Botany 

Invertebrate  Zoology 

English 

Freehand  Drawing 

Chemistry  

Hygiene 

Military  Drill 

Sophomore  Year. 

English 

Physics 

Agricultural  Chemistry 


1  Economic  Entomology. 
8  Linear  Drawing. 


2  General  Entomology. 
*  Physical  Training. 


*  Military  Drilling. 


410 


HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


Political  Economy 

Phys.  of  Animals 

Military  Drill 

Elective  .  . .  t 

Junior  Year. 
Elective 

Senior  Year. 

Thesis 

Applied  Agriculture 

Earm  Buildings 

Military  Science 

History  of  Agriculture  . . 
Elective 


No. 
Course. 

1st 
Term. 

2d 
Term. 

3d 
Term. 

51 

3 

3 

3 

— 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 

— 

2 

— 

1 

4 

4 

— 

15-18 

15-18 

15-18 



— 

2 

2 

1-6 

7 

7 

7 

10 

1 

1 

1 

5 

— 

2 

— 

8 

— 

— 

2 

— 

7 

5 

3 

The  remaining  part  of  the  course  is  elective,  with  the  condition 
that  at  least  one-half  of  the  entire  elective  work  of  each  year,  in- 
cluding the  thesis  and  applied  agriculture  in  the  senior  year,  must  be 
in  work  given  by  the  departments  of  agriculture  and  horticulture 
and  in  the  courses  in  agricultural  chemistry,  economic  entomology, 
origin  of  soils,  diseases  of  farm  animals,  zootechny  and  silviculture. 

Those  who,  at  entrance,  offer  Latin  for  one  of  the  advanced  en- 
trance subjects,  must  make  up  two  years  of  a  modern  language  in 
the  University. 

Students  receive  instruction  not  only  in  the  College  of  Agricult- 
ure, but  also  in  the  following-named  Colleges  and  Departments: 
Botany,  Freehand  Drawing,  Physics,  Political  Economy,  Physiol- 
ogy, Vertebrate  Zoology,  Hygiene,  Mathematics,  French,  German, 
and  Drill  and  Gymnasium;  Geology,  Veterinary  Science,  Civil 
Engineering,  and  Mechemical  Engineering.  (The  elective  work  is 
in  italics.) 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FLORICULTURE.         411 

ADVANCED   OR   GRADUATE    WORK   IX   AGRICULTURAL    SCIENCE. 

The  advanced  instruction  is. designed  to  fit  men  for  teachers  and 
experimenters,  and  it  may  lead  to  the  Degree  of  Master  of  Science 
in  Agriculture,  and  to  Doctor  of  Philosophy.  The  laboratories, 
dairy  building,  farm  gardens,  orchards,  and  libraries  give  ample 
facilities  for  the  prosecution  of  independent  work  of  a  high  charac- 
ter. 

A  yearly  fellowship  of  an  annual  value  of  $500  is  assigned  to  the 
following  group  of  departments  :  Agriculture,  Horticulture,  and 
Veterinary  Science. 

THE    SPECIAL    COURSE. 

The  Special  Course  is  intended  for  young  persons  who  cannot 
well  spend  four  years  in  preparing  themselves  to  become  farmers, 
and  who  yet  wish  to  avail  themselves  of  technical  and  practical  in- 
struction in  modern  scientific  agriculture. 

Persons  who  are  eighteen  years  of  age,  and  who  furnish  evidence 
to  the  Director  that  they  are  able  to  pursue  the  work  elected  in  a 
satisfactory  manner,  are  admitted  to  the  Special  Course  without 
examination.  The  number  of  hours,  and  the  courses  elected,  must 
be  approved  by  the  Director.  This  course  may  extend  through 
either  one  or  two  years.  The  required  work  is  designed  for  stu- 
dents studying  for  the  degree  of  B.S.A.,  and  not  for  special 
students. 

Special  students,  during  the  time  they  are  in  the  University,  en- 
joy equal  advantages  in  all  respects  with  students  who  are  studying 
for  a  degree.  They  are  admitted  by  a  vote  of  the  Faculty  upon 
recommendation  of  the  Director  of  the  College.  Applications  for 
admission  to  the  Special  Course  shall  be  made  personally,  or  by 
letter  to  the  Director. 

STNOPSIS    OP    COURSES. 

Agriculture.  —  The  instruction  in  Agriculture  proper  treats  of 
soils  and  their  preparation  ;  fertilizers  ;  harvesting  and  marketing 
general  and  special  crops  ;  laying  out  and  improving  farms  ;  drain- 
age and  irrigation  ;  farm  buildings  and  fences,  locations,  plans,  and 
construction ;  farm-yard  manures  and  commercial  fertilizers,  com- 
position, manufacture,  preservation,  and  application ;  farm  ac- 
counts, business  customs,  rights,  and  privileges ;  employment  and 
direction  of  laborers ;  farm  implements  and  machinery,  use,  care, 


412  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

and  repairs ;  grasses  and  forage  plants ;  weeds  and  their  eradica- 
tion ;  swine,  sheep,  and  horse  husbandry,  breeds  and  breediiig,  care, 
management,  and  feeding. 

The  practice  will  include  setting  up  and  running  farm  machinery 
and  engines  ;  the  sharpening  and  repairing  of  small  tools,  drawing 
plans  and  specifications  of  farm  buildings ;  mapping  drains,  and 
farm  book-keeping. 

Dairy  Husbandry.  —  The  class-room  instruction  consists  of 
lectures  upon  the  production  of  milk  and  its  manufacture  into  its 
various  products.  The  dairy  house  practice  will  comprise  the  mak- 
ing of  butter  and  cheese  by  the  most  approved  methods ;  testing  of 
milk  as  to  purity  and  fat  content ;  the  use  and  care  of  centrifugal 
separators  and  other  creaming  devices,  and  the  details  of  creamery 
and  cheese  factory  management. 

Animal  Industry.  —  Lectures  will  be  given  on  the  origin  and 
formation  of  the  various  breeds  of  dairy  and  beef  cattle ;  their  se- 
lection and  improvement ;  the  improvement  of  native  cattle,  and 
formation  of  new  breeds ;  the  composition  of  stock  foods,  and  their 
combinations  into  rations  suitaole  for  various  purposes.  Practice 
will  be  given  in  tracing  and  tabulating  pedigrees ;  judging  by  scale 
of  points ;  and  computing  rations. 

Poultry- Keeping .  —  Will  include  instruction  in  breeds  and  breed- 
ing ;  feeding  and  management ;  incubation,  artificial  and  otherwise ; 
construction  of  poultry  houses  and  their  management. 

Horticulture.  —  The  instruction  in  horticulture  is  given  in  twelve 
courses.  Course  1  is  designed  to  afford  a  general  scientific  foun- 
dation for  the  prosecution  of  all  studies  relating  to  the  variation 
and  amelioration  of  plants  under  conditions  of  domestication  and 
cultivation,  and  it  has  only  indirect  reference  to  horticultural 
methods  and  practices.  Course  6  is  intended  for  those  advanced 
students  who  have  had  some  training  in  systematic  botany,  and 
who  desire  to  familiarize  themselves  with  the  complex  botany  of 
cultivated  plants.  Courses  4,  5,  7,  8,  9,  10  are  calculated  to  afford 
the  latest  information  and  methods  connected  with  the  commercial 
cultivation  of  plants,  and  in  all  of  them  laboratory  work  and  field 
practice  are  important  factors. 

The  Experiment  Station,  which  is  a  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity, offers  opportunity  for  students  to  observe  and  study  the  inves- 
tigations which  are  being  carried  on  in  many  branches  of  animal 
and  plant  industry. 


AGRICULTUBE  AND  FLORICULTURE.         413 

A.     AGRICULTURE. 

1.  Wheat  Culture.  —  Preparation  of  soil,  seeding,  insects,  har- 
vesting, marketing;  farms,  selection  and  purchase,  location  with  re- 
gard to  markets,  roads,  schools,  society ;  farm  buildings,  location, 
plans,  construction,  liability  of  contractors ;  fields,  shape  and  size ; 
fences  and  gates,  construction,  repairs,  durability  of  wood;  farm 
and  public  roads,  bridges  and  culverts ;  farm-yard  manures,  com- 
position, manufacture,  preservation,  application ;  commercial  fer- 
tilizers, composition  and  use.  Lectures.  Fall  term.  Daily,  ex. 
Saturday,  11.     Five  hours.     Morrill  19.     Professor  Roberts. 

2.  Inspection  of  Roads,  Bridges,  and  Farm  Buildings. — 
Agricultural  survey  and  comparison  of  farms ;  practice  in  fields, 
shop,  and  barns.  Fall  term.  T.,  2-5.  One  hour.  Professor 
Roberts. 

3.  Farm  Accounts  —  business  customs,  rights,  and  privileges, 
form  of  contracts,  notes,  deeds,  mortgages;  road  laws,  employ- 
ment and  direction  of  laborers ;  swine  husbandry,  breeds,  feeding, 
management ;  the  horse,  breeds  and  breeding,  feeding,  education, 
care,  and  driving;  sheep  husbandry,  breeds  and  varieties,  manage- 
ment and  care,  early  lamb  raising.  Lectures.  Winter  term. 
Daily,  except  Saturday,  11.  Five  hours.  Morrill  19.  Professor 
Roberts. 

4.  Judging  and  Scoring  Horses,  Swine,  and  Sheep ;  work  in 
shop  and  barns;  running  engines  and  other  farm  machinery. 
Winter  term.     T.,  2-5.     One  hour.     Professor  Roberts. 

5.  Farm  Drainage  —  construction,  material,  cost,  and  utility  ; 
history  of  ploughs  and  ploughing ;  farm  implements  and  machinery, 
use,  care,  and  repairs ;  corn,  oat,  barley,  flax,  hop,  potato,  and 
tobacco  culture ;  grasses  and  forage  plants ;  silos  and  ensilage ; 
weeds  and  their  eradication.  Lectures.  Spring  term.  Daily, 
except  Saturday,  11.  Five  hours.  Morrill  19.  Professor 
Roberts. 

6.  Practice  in  fields  and  shop,  use  of  tools,  implements,  and 
farm  machinery,  draining,  surveys,  and  mapping.  Spring  term. 
T.,  2-5.     One  hour.     Professor  Roberts. 

7.  Seminary  Work  for  Advanced  Students.  —  One  hour.  By 
appointment.     Morrill  19.     Professor  Roberts. 

8.  History  of  Agriculture.  —  Lectures  and  reports.  Spring. 
W.,  F.,  9.     Two  hours.     Morrill  19.     Mr.  Lauman. 

9.  German  Agricultural  Reading.  —  M.,  S.,  9.  Two  hours. 
Morrill  17 B.     Mr.  Lauman. 


414  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

10.  Farm  Buildings.  —  Study  and  designing  of  farm  buildings. 
One  afternoon  per  week,  2-4.30.     One  hour.     Mr.  Lauman. 

11.  For  Students  in  Veterinary  Science.  — Breeding,  care,  and 
management  of  horses,  sheep,  and  swine.  Stables,  construction, 
and  sanitation.     Two  hours.     Fall  term.     Professor  Roberts. 

12.  For  Winter  Course  Students.  —  Lectures  on  the  leading 
subjects  in  courses  1,  3,  5,  above,  will  be  given  so  far  as  time  will 
permit.  Daily,  except  Saturday,  9.  Five  hours.  Morrill  19. 
Professor  Roberts. 

13.  Practice  as  in  courses  2,  4,  and  6,  in  sections  by  appoint- 
ment, one  afternoon  for  each  section  per  week.  Winter  term.  2- 
5.     Two  hours.     Professor  Roberts. 

Professor  Roberts  will  be  assisted  by  specialists  in  giving  instruc- 
tion in  some  of  the  subjects  named. 

B.     ANIMAL.  INDUSTRY  AND  DAIRY   HUSBANDRY. 

21.  Animal  Industry.  —  Principles  of  breeding,  history,  and 
development,  improvement,  and  creation  of  dairy  and  beef  breeds 
of  cattle ;  principles  of  feeding,  care,  selection,  and  management 
of  dairy  and  beef  cattle.  Winter  and  spring  terms.  Lectures. 
M.,  W.,  12.  Practice  one  hour  by  appointment.  Three  hours. 
Dairy  Building.     Assistant  Professor  Wing. 

22.  Dairy  Husbandry.  —  Milk  and  butter.  Fall  term.  Lectures 
T.,  Th.,  12.  Practice  two  afternoons  by  appointment.  Four  hours. 
Dairy  Building.     Assistant  Professor  Wing. 

23.  Dairy  Husbandry. — Cheese.  Winter  term.  Practice  two 
days  per  week,  10-1,  by  appointment.  Three  hours.  Dairy  Build- 
ing.    Assistant  Professor  Wing. 

24.  Dairy  Husbandry.  —  Laboratory  work  on  special  problems. 
Fall  and  spring  terms.  By  appointment,  one  to  three  hours. 
Open  only  to  students  who  have  had  course  22.  Assistant  Pro- 
fessor Wing. 

25.  For  Winter  Course  Students.  —  Animal  Industry  and  Dairy 
Husbandry.  Principles  of  breeding,  feeding,  and  selection,  care 
and  management  of  dairy  cattle.  Daily,  8.  Practice  one  after- 
noon by  appointment.  Dairy  Building.  Assistant  Professor 
Wing. 

26.  For  Dairy  Course  Students.  —  Winter.  Lectures  on  milk 
and  its  products ;  breeding  and  feeding,  daily,  8 ;  lectures  on  sub- 
jects related  to  dairy  husbandry,  daily,  9;  practice  in  butter  and 
cheese  making   and   in   dairy   laboratory,  daily,    10-4.30.     Dairy 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FLORICULTURE.  415 

Building.  Assistant  Professor  Wing,  Messrs.  Hall,  Griffith,  and 
Troy,  assisted  by  others  of  the  Faculty  of  the  College  of  Agricul- 
ture. 

Course  26  or  the  "  Dairy  course  "  may  be  elected  by  special 
students  in  agriculture  as  a  full  term's  work  for  the  winter  term. 

27.  Poultry.  —  Origin,  history,  and  classification  of  the  domes- 
tic breeds  of  poultry ;  breeding,  feeding,  and  management ;  con- 
struction of  buildings,  incubators,  and  brooders.  Lectures,  T., 
Th.,  12.  Practice  in  running  incubators  and  brooders,  and  in 
judging  and  selecting  fowls,  by  appointment.  Two  or  three  hours. 
Spring  term.     Assistant  Professor  Wing. 

28.  For  Winter  Course  Students.  —  The  work  is  the  same  as 
course  27.  Lectures.  T.,  Th.,  12.  Practice  by  appointment. 
Regular  and  special  students  may  elect  the  lectures  in  this  course 
instead  of  in  course  27  if  they  prefer.  Winter  term.  Assistant 
Professor  Wing. 

C.     HOBTICULTUKB. 

1.  Evolution  of  Cultivated  Plants.  Lectures  and  text-book.  A 
discussion  of  the  current  hypotheses  of  organic  evolution  as  applied 
to  the  modification  of  plants,  particularly  of  those  in  cultivation. 
Open  to  students  in  all  courses  who  have  taken  courses  1  and  2  in 
Botany.  Fall.  M.,  W.,  F.,  10.  Three  hours.  Morrill  19.  Pro- 
fessor Bailey. 

2.  German  Horticultural  Reading. —  T.,  Th.,  9.  Two  hours. 
Morrill  17 B.     Mr.  Lauman. 

3.  The  Literature  of  Horticulture. —  A  seminary  in  the  liter- 
ature of  the  cultivation  of  plants  in  various  parts  of  the  world, 
with  reviews  of  periodical  literature.  Fall.  Th.,  10.  One  hour. 
Morrill  17 B.     Professor  Bailey  and  Mr.  Lauman. 

4.  Greenhouse  Construction  and  Management. —  Fall.  Lecture, 
T.,  10,  Morrill  17 B,  and  laboratory  work,  W.,  2-4.30,  at  Forcing- 
houses.     Two  hours.     Professor  Bailey  and  Mr.  Lauman. 

5.  Pomology. —  Lectures,  text-book  and  other  class  exercises 
upon  the  cultivation  of  fruits.  Winter.  M.,  W.,  F.,  10.  Three 
hours.     Morrill  19.     Professor  Bailey. 

6.  The  Botany  of  Cultivated  Plants. —  A  seminary  course,  reg- 
istration for  which  is  by  special  permission.  Winter.  T.,  10. 
One  hour.     Morrill  17 B.     Professor  Bailey. 

7.  Propagation  of  Plants. —  Deals  with  the  multiplication  of 
plants  —  grafting,  budding,  making  cuttings,  pollination,  etc.    Win- 


416  HELPS  FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

ter.  Lectures  and  text-book,  Th.,  12,  and  laboratory  work,  Th., 
2-4.30.  Two  hours.  Forcing-houses.  Professor  Bailey  and  Mr. 
Lauman. 

8.  Principles  of  Vegetable  Gardening. —  Lectures.  Spring. 
M.,  W.,  10.     Two  hours.     Morrill  19.     Professor  Bailey. 

9.  Field  Lessons. —  Pruning  and  the  study  of  orchards  and 
plants  where  they  grow.  Garden  tools.  Includes  the  theory  and 
practice  of  spraying  plants.  Spring.  M.,  2-4.30.  One  hour. 
Forcing-houses.     Professor  Bailey  and  Mr.  Lauman. 

10.  Handicraft. —  Practical  work  in  the  forcing-houses  and 
gardens,  with  familiar  tulks.  One  to  three  hours  by  appointment. 
Professor  Bailey,  Mr.  Lauman,  and  Mr.  Hunn. 

11.  Investigation  incident  to  previous  courses.  For  graduates 
and  advanced  students.     Hours  by  appointment.     Professor  Bailey. 

12.  For  Winter  Course  Students. —  The  general  subjects  pre- 
sented in  the  foregoing  courses.  Winter.  Lectures  and  text-book, 
M.,  F.,  11,  Morrill — ,  and  practical  work  in  sections  by  appoint- 
ment, one  afternoon,  2-4.30,  for  each  section  per  week  at  Forc- 
ing-houses.    Three  hours.     Professor  Bailey  and  Mr.  Lauman. 

Seminaries  are  conducted  when  requested  by  students,  and  credit 
may  be  had  for  such  work.  The  Horticulturists'  Club  meets  every 
Monday  evening. 

D.      CHEMISTRY. 

16.  Agricultural  Chemistry. —  General  course.  Four  hours. 
Professor  Caldwell. 

17.  Agricultural  Chemistry. —  Readings  from  journals.  For 
those  who  have  had  course  16.     One  hour.     Professor  Caldwell. 

E.     ENTOMOLOGY. 

6.  Economic  Entomology. —  Winter  term.  Two  lectures  per 
week.     Assistant  Professor  Slingerland. 

7.  Economic  Entomology. —  Laboratory  work.  Structure  and 
classification  of  insects.     Winter  term.     Assistant  MacGillivary. 

P.      BOTANY. 
O.     VETERINARY   SCIENCE. 

1.  Diseases  of  Farm  Animals. —  One  hour.  Fall  term.  Tues- 
day, 10.     Professor  Law. 

la.  Diseases  of  Farm  Animals. —  One  hour.  Winter  term. 
S.,  8.     Professor  Law. 

2.  General  Physiology  of  Domestic  Animals. —  One  hour 
through  the  year.     F.,  10.     Assistant  Professor  Fish. 


AGRICULTURE  AND   FLORICULTURE.         417 

8.  Zootechny.—  Two  hours.  Winter  term.  T.,  Th.,  11.  Pro- 
fessor W.  L.  Williams. 

FEES  AND   EXPENSES. 

Tuition  is  free. 

Incidental  fees  are  required  as  follows  : 

Per  term. 

Post-graduate  students '. $5  00 

Regular  students,  3d  and  4th  years 5  00 

Special  students 5  00 

For  general  winter   course  students  in   Agriculture  electing 

practice  in  Dairy  Husbandry 12  50 

For  Winter  Dairy  Course  Students 15  00 

Deposits  are  required  in  the  various  laboratories  where  work  is 
taken  ranging  from  $1.50  to  $10.00  per  term  according  to  the 
amount  and  nature  of  the  work. 

THE    WINTER    COURSES    IN    AGRICULTURE    AND    DAIRY    HUSBANDRY. 

There  are  many  persons  who  cannot  spend  two  or  more  years  at 
college,  but  who  would  receive  great  benefit  from  lectures  and 
practice  during  the  winter  months.  To  meet  the  needs  of  such  per- 
sons the  following  courses  are  offered.  They  begin  the  first  week 
in  January  of  each  year  and  extend  through  one  university  term  of 
eleven  weeks. 

Persons  who  are  of  good  moral  character  and  seventeen  years  of 
age  may  be  admitted  by  the  Director  of  the  College  without  a  formal 
examination,  but  are  required  to  file  a  letter  of  recommendation 
and  to  satisfy  the  director  that  their  previous  training  has  been  such 
that  they  can  pursue  the  studies  elected  with  profit  to  themselves 
and  credit  to  the  university.' 

Students  may  elect  either  one  of  the  following  lines  of  study  : 

I.     WINTER  COURSE   IN  AGRICULTURE. 

Prescribed  work  —  Agriculture,  5  hours  per  week. 

Horticulture,  2  hours  per  week. 

Animal  industry,  2  hours  per  week. 

Agricultural  Chemistry,  2  hours  per  week. 
Two  hours  per  day  of  practice  in  educational  work  in  barns, 
dairy  houses,  forcing-houses,  and  laboratories. 


418  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

Elective.     A  minimum  of  four  hours  must  be  taken  in  addition  to 
the  prescribed  work  from  the  subjects  named  below  : 
Entomology,  2  hours  per  week. 
Botany,  2  hours  per  week. 
Dairy  Husbandry,  2  hours  per  week. 
Poultry  Keeping,  2  hours  per  week. 
Political  Economy,  1  hour  per  week. 

II.     THE   WINTER  DAIRY  COURSE. 

This  course  is  designed  primarily  to  meet  the  needs  of  those  but- 
ter and  cheese  makers  who  desire  more  thorough  and  comprehen- 
sive instruction,  and  to  train  those  who  are  looking  toward  butter 
and  cheese  making  as  a  profession.  The  instruction  is  given 
largely  with  the  view  of  fitting  students  for  conducting  factories, 
while  that  in  the  winter  course  in  agriculture  is  given  with  partic- 
ular reference  to  the  needs  of  the  farm  dairy. 

Not  more  than  fifty  students  can  be  accommodated  in  the  build- 
ing. The  class  will  be  limited  to  this  number  and  applications 
should  be  made  at  as  early  a  date  as  practicable  in  order  to  insure 
admission. 

The  instruction  is  partly  by  lectures  and  recitations,  but  largely 
by  actual  practice  in  the  Creamery,  Cheese  Factory,  and  Dairy 
Laboratory,  the  order  being  about  as  follows  : 

Lectures  on  milk  and  its  products,  2  hours  per  week. 

Lectures  on  subjects  relating  to  dairying,  10  hours  per  week. 

Cheese-room  practice,  twice  weekly,  4-6  hours  each. 

Butter-room  practice,  twice  weekly,  4-6  hours  each. 

Dairy  laboratory  practice,  twice  weekly,  2-4  hours  each. 

Problems  and  book-keeping,  2  hours  per  week. 

CALENDAR. 

The  entrance  examinations  for  students  in  the  Regular  Course 
are  held  in  September  and  June.  Students  may  be  excluded  if  not 
present  at  the  beginning  of  the  term. 

For  further  particulars  and  for  a  special  announcement  which 
will  be  sent  on  application,  address  I.  P.  Roberts,  Director  of  the 
College  of  Agriculture,  Cornell  University,  Ithaca,  N.Y. 

The  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  of  Cornell  University  is  a 
Department  of  the  College  of  Agriculture.  Incidentally,  students 
may  receive  instruction  from  observing  and  discussing  the  experi- 
ments which  are  being  carried  on.     The  Federal  Law  passed  March 


AGRICULTURE  AND  FLORICULTURE.         419 

2,  1887,  briefly  outlines  the  object  of  the  Experiment  Station  in  the 
following  words:  "  To  aid  in  acquiring  and  diffusing  among  the 
people  of  the  United  States  useful  and  practical  information  on  the 
subjects  connected  with  agriculture,  and  to  promote  scientific  inves- 
tigation and  experiment  respecting  the  principles  and  applications 
of  agricultural  science."  .  .  .  It  further  provides  "  That  bulle- 
tins or  reports  of  progress  shall  be  published  at  said  stations  at  least 
once  in  three  months,  one  copy  of  which  shall  be  sent  to  each  news- 
paper in  the  States  or  territories  in  which  they  are  respectively  lo- 
cated, and  to  such  individuals  actually  engaged  in  farming  as  may 
request  the  same,  and  as  far  as  the  means  of  the  station  will  per- 
mit." The  entire  plant  of  the  College  of  Agriculture  is  used,  as 
occasion  demands,  for  conducting  experiments  in  animal  and  plant 
growth  and  reproduction,  and  in  applied,  comparative,  and  scien- 
tific research  and  investigations. 

In  pursuance  of  Chapter  430  of  the  Laws  of  1899  of  New  York 
State,  provision  is  made  for  "giving  instruction  throughout  the 
State  by  means  of  schools,  lectures,  and  other  university  extension 
methods,  or  otherwise,  and  in  conducting  investigations  and  experi- 
ments ;  in  discovering  the  diseases  of  plants  and  remedies ;  in  as- 
certaining the  best  method  of  fertilization  of  fields,  gardens,  and 
plantations ;  and  best  modes  of  tillage,  and  farm  management,  and 
improvement  of  live  stock ;  and  in  printing  leaflets  and  disseminat- 
ing agricultural  knowledge  by  means  of  lectures  or  otherwise ;  and 
in  preparing  and  printing  for  free  distribution  the  results  of  such 
investigations  and  experiments,  and  for  republishing  such  bulletins 
as  may  be  useful  in  the  furtherance  of  the  work,  and  such  other 
information  as  may  be  deemed  desirable  and  profitable  in  promot- 
ing the  agricultural  interests  of  the  State." 

I  would  found  an  institution  where  any  person  can  find  in- 
struction in  any  study.  —  Ezra  Cornell,  founder  of  Cornell  Uni- 
versity. 


420  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


CHAPTEE    XXXIV. 

WORK   IN   NATURE'S    FIELDS. 

Most  needle  women  and  store  employees  conld  hardly 
work  under  more  distressing  conditions,  and  through  a 
lull  in  their  employment  might  starve  or  become  paupers. 
As  farmers,  starvation  and  pauperism  would  be  impossi- 
ble. —  "  Occupations  for  Women." 

I  was  born  a  farmer.  Farmers  are  born,  not  made. 
—  Mrs.  Taber  Willett,  farmer,  Roslyn,  L.I. 

If  it  is  objected  that  many  girls  are  too  delicate  for 
outdoor  employment  it  may  be  answered  that  in  numer- 
ous cases  these  girls  are  too  delicate  for  anything  else. 
Sunshine,  air,  and  exercise  are  three  of  their  most  vital 
needs.  Many  a  consumptively  inclined  person  has 
become  healthy  and  happy  by  close  daily  contact  with 
the  soil,  the  facing  of  free  winds,  and  plenty  of  outdoor 
employment.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women." 

Of  course  the  rule  holds  good  here  as  it  does  regard- 
ing other  kinds  of  employment.  No  one  should  adopt 
farming  as  an  occupation  who  does  not  love  outdoor 
pursuits  and  farm  belongings.  To  any  other  it  would 
surely  mean  drudgery,  and  slavery  as  well.  But  there 
are  thousands  who  love  "  all  outdoors,"  and  any  occupa- 
tion which  has  to  do  with  country  wideness  and  green, 
growing  tilings,  would  be  their  delight.  If  these  could 
be  weeded  out  from  the  city  workers  much  sorely  needed 


WORK  IN  NATURE'S  FIELDS.  421 

relief  would  be  afforded  to  thousands  of  other  workers  as 
well  as  to  themselves.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women" 

The  woman  farmer  is  no  longer  sufficiently  unique  to 
be  wondered  at,  sneered  at,  or  smiled  at.  She  is  found 
in  many  parts  of  the  country,  and  is,  if  one  may  judge 
from  the  facts  brought  to  light,  as  successful  in  her 
chosen  work  as  is  her  brother  tiller  of  the  soil.  —  "  Occu- 
pations for  Women" 

It  will  seem  surprising  if  in  the  near  future  we  do  not 
see  communities  of  girl  farmers  located  near  enough 
together  to  be  helpers  and  companions  to  each  other.  — ■ 
"  Occupations  for  Women." 

Americans  are  only  beginning  to  understand  that  a 
small  patch  of  land  may  be  cultivated  with  great  profit. 
The  Japanese  immigrants  who  have  settled  in  California 
within  the  last  few  years  have  attracted  the  interest  of 
horticulturists  to  their  method  of  tillage,  which  has  pre- 
vailed for  ages  in  Japan.  They  understand  the  art  of 
getting  a  bountiful  supply  from  every  inch  of  soil.  With 
three  or  four  acres  the  Japanese  farmer  satisfies  his  every 
want,  keeps  clear  of  debt,  and  lays  up  money.  With  one 
acre  in  vegetables  he  is  independent.  —  "  Occupations  for 
Women." 

Many  a  woman  has  a  home  with  a  bit  of  ground 
attached  which  hardly  pays  the  taxes.  She  is  fretting 
and  struggling  to  make  a  little  money  to  live  on.  The 
only  way  she  can  think  of  is  to  sew  or  teach  or  find 
something  to  do  for  which  she  will  be  paid,  however 
small  a  sum.  Her  bit  of  ground  can  be  made  to  pay 
like  a  bank,  if  she  goes  at  it  right.  Let  her  buy  a  good 
book  on  market-gardening,  study  it,  and  set  to  work  to 


422  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS    GIRLS. 

get   the   most   out   of   her    ground.  — "  Occupations  for 
Women." 

Her  capital  consisted  of  a  comfortable  house  located  in 
a  large  barren  village  lot,  a  stable  and  one  cow.  She 
had  three  dependent  children,  and  no  income,  After  due 
consideration  and  preparation  she  had  the  lot  ploughed  in 
early  spring,  and  converted  it  into  one  large  strawberry 
bed,  while  around  its  sides  were  planted  black-cap  rasp- 
berries. She  selected  standard,  reliable  varieties,  and 
gave  her  plants  good  and  thorough  cultivation.  The  next 
spring  her  plants  were  strong  and  thrifty,  and  in  good 
bearing  condition.  A  compact  was  made  with  her  grocer, 
who  undertook  the  sale  of  the  entire  crop.  When  the 
season  was  over  and  settlements  made,  the  widow  felt  well 
repaid  for  all  her  work  and  anxiety,  for  her  berries  had 
returned  sufficient  over  expenses  to  provide  for  all  the 
needs  of  herself  and  children  till  the  next  spring.  The 
question  of  support  was  settled.  —  Chicago  Newspaper. 

The  three  daughters  of  the  late  J.  D.  Gillett,  of  Logan 
County,  Illinois,  manage  three  farms  aggregating  over 
four  thousand  acres.  These  three  young  women,  who 
are  finely  educated,  speak  French,  and  have  a  taste  for 
art,  literature,  and  music,  are  enthusiastic  over  farming 
as  a  profession  for  women.  The  farms  now  jdeld  four 
times  as  much  as  they  did  when  managed  by  Mr.  Gillett. 
They  are  divided  into  small  sections  which  are  tilled  by 
tenants,  with  whom  the  crops  are  divided.  A  lake  on 
this  land  was  drained  by  digging  a  ditch  a  mile  and  a 
half  long.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women." 

There  are  no  new  women,  but  there  are  new  men ;  for 
they  are  beginning  to  recognize  the  worth  of  women,  and 
to  acknowledge  it.     Women  are  the  same  as  they  always 


WORK  IN  NATURE'S  FIELDS.  423 

have  been,  only  the  sudden  opening  of  the  world's  eyes 
to  their  power  has  given  them  courage  to  strike  out  and 
conquer  new  fields.  —  Mrs.  Taber  Willett. 

There  is  just  as  much  profit  in  farming  as  ever,  and 
even  more,  for  modern  machinery  and  implements  have 
reduced  the  work  to  a  minimum.  The  farm  of  to-day  is 
just  like  a  great  factory,  and,  instead  of  requiring  com- 
petent hands  to  turn  out  hard  work,  in  many  cases  it 
only  requires  raw  hands  to  see  that  the  wheels  go  round. 
—  Mrs.  Taber  Willett. 

A  year  ago  I  had  about  the  largest  yard  of  thorough- 
bred Guernsey  cattle  in  the  State,  and  I  used  to  make 
all  the  butter,  and  attend  to  a  large  share  of  the  milking. 
There  were  over  fifty  of  them.  —  Mrs.  Taber  Willett. 

Sex  makes  no  difference.  Women  who  work  on  farms 
become  as  healthy  and  rugged  as  men.  Then  they  have 
more  patience,  and  the  power  to  adapt  themselves  more 
readily,  and  their  dispositions  are  such  that  they  grow 
to  love  their  work  in  the  fields  because  it  brings  them 
nearer  to  Nature,  and  their  work  is  a  constant  reminder 
of  the  goodness  of  their  Maker.  I  have  done  everything 
that  can  be  done  upon  a  farm,  from  hoeing  potatoes  to 
stacking  hay,  and  there  was  no  task,  however  heavy,  but 
was  lightened  by  the  thought  of  His  touch  having  been 
there  before.  —  Mrs.  Taber  Willett. 

Of  course  there  are  plenty  of  women  who  could  not  be 
successful  farmers,  as  there  are  plenty  of  men.  —  Mrs. 
Taber  Willett. 

The  raising  of  flowers  seems  a  natural  occupation  for 
women,  because  so  many  do  it  voluntarily,  for  no  reward 


424  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

except  the  joy  of  watching  buds  unfold.  The  tendency 
of  women  workers  is  to  migrate  to  cities  for  employment. 
Flower-raising  is  one  of  the  occupations  that  requires  a 
country  or  suburban  home,  and  so  what  is  sometimes 
considered  a  hampering  condition  —  a  cottage  out  of  town 

—  may  be  made  to  take  the  place  of  a  stock  in  trade.  — 
Helen  C.  Candee. 

To  pursue  the  business  in  a  modest  way,  depending 
upon  summer  visitors  for  custom,  may  not  mean  to  earn 
sufficient  money  for  defraying  all  the  expenses  of  living, 
but  such  a  business  is  capable  of  expansion.  —  Helen  C 
Candee. 

As  in  all  cases  where  any  capital  is  to  be  invested, 
money  must  be  spent  with  the  most  careful  wisdom. 
But  the  income  is  apt  to  be  in  proportion  to  the  outlay. 

—  Helen  C.  Candee. 

Each  man  reaps  on  his  own  farm.  —  Plautus. 

Better  to  hunt  in  fields  for  health  unbought 
Than  fee  the  doctor  for  a  nauseous  draught. 
The  wise  for  cure  on  exercise  depend  ; 
God  never  made  his  work  for  man  to  mend. 

D?'yden. 

For  wheresoe'er  I  turn  my  ravish'd  eyes, 
Gay  gilded  scenes  and  shining  prospects  rise, 
Poetic  fields  encompass  me  around, 
And  still  I  seem  to  tread  on  classic  ground. 

Addison,  "  Letter  from  Italy" 

Plough  deep  while  sluggards  sleep.  —  Franklin. 


WORK  IN  NATURE'S   FIELDS.  425 

Of  him  who  walked  in  glory  and  in  joy, 
Following  his  plough  along  the  mountain-side. 

Wordsworth. 

Earth  laughs  in  flowers  to  see  her  boastful  boys 
Earth-proud,  proud  of  the  earth  which  -is  not  theirs ; 
Who  steer  the  plough  but  cannot  steer  their  feet 
Clear  of  the  grave. 

Emerson. 

There  's  husbandry  in  heaven ; 
Their  candles  are  all  out. 

Shakespeare. 

The  life  of  the  husbandman  —  a  life  fed  by  the  bounty 
of  earth  and  sweetened  by  the  airs  of  heaven.  —  Jerrold. 

Earth  is  here  so  kind  that  just  tickle  her  with  a  hoe 
and  she  laughs  with  a  harvest.  —  Jerrold. 

None  shall  rule  but  the  humble, 
And  none  but  Toil  shall  have. 

Emerson. 

Nothing  great  was  ever  achieved  without  enthusiasm. 
—  Emerson. 

Neither  a  borrower  nor  a  lender  be  ; 
For  loan  oft  loses  both  itself  and  friend, 
And  borrowing  dulls  the  edge  of  husbandry. 
This  above  all :  to  thine  own  self  be  true, 
And  it  must  follow,  as  the  night  the  day, 
Thou  canst  not  then  be  false  to  any  man. 

Shakespeare. 


426  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

It  is  for  homely  features  to  keep  home,  — 
They  had  their  name  thence ;  coarse  complexions 
And  cheeks  of  sorry  grain  will  serve  to  ply 
The  sampler  and  to  tease  the  huswife's  wool. 
What  need  a  vermeil-tinctur'd  lip  for  that, 
Love-darting  eyes,  or  tresses  like  the  morn  ? 

Milton. 

["  Occupations  for  Women,"  from  which  a  number  of 
the  quotations  in  this  and  other  chapters  are  taken,  is  an 
exhaustive  work  on  women's  employments,  by  Frances  E. 
Willard,  assisted  by  Helen  M.  Winslow  and  Sallie  Joy 
White,  and  published  by  The  "  Success  "  Company,  New 
York.] 


THE  FASHIONABLE  DRESSMAKEB.  427 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

THE    FASHrONAB^    DRESSMAKER. 

"...    What  riches  give  us  let  us  then  inquire  : 
Meat,  fire,  and  clothes.    What  more  ?    Meat,  fine  clothes,  and  fire." 

Pope. 

Dressmaking  is  much  more  than  simple  sewing,  and 
it  will  not  do  to  think  that  because  you  can  sew  neatly, 
as  most  girls  can,  you  have  the  qualifications  necessary 
for  a  successful  dressmaker.  The  fashionable  dress- 
maker —  that  is,  the  dressmaker  for  people  of  fashion  — 
must  be  an  artist ;  and  more  than  that,  she  must  be  an 
artist  with  the  business  instinct.  She  must  not  only  de- 
sign and  produce  fine  dresses,  but  she  must  be  able  to 
manage  many  employees,  and  she  must  have  as  much 
business  capacity  as  a  dry  goods  merchant  or  a  merchant 
of  any  other  kind.  She  must  be  an  artist  with  the 
business  instinct,  and  a  business  woman  with  the  artistic 
instinct. 

I  am  not  speaking  of  girls  who  wish  to  find  employ- 
ment in  other  people's  dressmaking  shops,  and  are  satis- 
fied to  remain  in  such  positions.  Very  little  information 
is  needed  for  that  beyond  the  addresses  of  two  or  three 
such  establishments,  and  the  address  of  another  kind  to 
go  to  them  and  ask  for  work.  If  you  are  an  ambitious 
girl  you  will  not  be  satisfied  with  that  for  a  permanency. 
You  may  begin  in  such  a  position,  and  indeed  it  is  im- 
portant that  you  should,  so  that  in  the  future  you  may 
know  more  about  the  business  than  any  of  your  em- 
ployees ;  but  you  will  be  looking  forward  to  the  day  when 


428  HELP H  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

you  shall  be  the  forewoman  of  the  shop,  and  then  to  the 
day  when  yon  shall  have  a  shop  of  yonr  own. 

We  have  grown  so  grand  in  our  terms  that  it  may  seem 
almost  sacrilege  to  you  to  give  the  plebeian  name  of  shop 
to  so  gorgeous  a  place  as  a  fashionable  dressmaker's  es- 
tablishment. But  I  have  taken  it  for  granted  throughout 
this  work  that  you  are  not  only  an  ambitious  girl  but 
also  a  sensible  girl,  with  no  sort  of  objection  to  being  a 
girl  in  a  dressmaker's  shop,  if  circumstances  lead  you  in 
that  direction.  You  may  be  a  young  lady,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  you  are ;  but  that  is  a  matter  that  we  have 
nothing  to  do  with  at  present.  If  you  prefer  to  become 
the  forelady  of  a  dressmaking  establishment  rather  than 
the  forewoman  of  a  dressmaker's  shop,  you  will  get  noth- 
ing worse  than  a  smile  from  people  who  know  better.  If 
the  title  only  made  the  lady  ours  would  be  the  most 
ladylike  country  in  the  world. 

But  we  were  talking  about  dressmakers,  be  they  girls, 
ladies,  or  countesses.  You  can  learn  the  trade  of  the 
dressmaker,  beyond  reasonable  doubt,  by  going  to  work 
at  it,  or  by  attending  some  of  the  schools  where  dress- 
making is  taught.  But  the  art  of  the  dressmaker  is  a 
different  matter  and  not  so  easily  learned.  In  the 
language  of  a  member  of  the  guild,  "  almost  any  woman 
may  be  taught  the  trade  of  dressmaking,  but  to  become  a 
really  good  dressmaker  is  not  so  simple  a  matter.  Am- 
bition to  advance,  a  natural  taste,  the  instinct  for  decor- 
ation, a  correct  eye  for  color,  and  some  artistic  ability 
must  be  inherent.  Intelligent  and  thorough  cultivation 
of  all  these  qualities  is  as  necessary  to  a  training  as 
a  special  knowledge  of  cutting,  fitting,  and  putting  to- 
gether materials." 

In  other  words,  you  must  have  a  natural  taste  for 
decorating  the  female  form  artistically ;  and  thousands 
of  girls  have  it.     Some  young  girls  are  so  expert  at  this 


THE  FASHIONABLE  DRESSMAKER.  429 

that  they  produce  better  effects,  without  any  special 
training,  than  most  of  the  dressmakers  can  produce. 
They  know  instinctively  that  the  dress  that  looks  well 
upon  some  other  girl  would  not  look  well  upon  them  — 
that  every  face,  form,  carriage,  complexion,  height,  age, 
requires  a  treatment  of  its  own  that  usually  will  not 
answer  as  well  for  any  other  person. . 

Because  this  is  a  business,  as  well  as  an  art,  it  is  im- 
possible to  estimate  how  much  money  a  fashionable 
dressmaker  may  make.  That  depends  upon  her  skill 
and  her  business  ability.  As  an  employee,  a  girl  can 
usually  make  from  $4  to  $6  a  week  at  the  beginning,  and 
in  time  she  may  be  worth  $12  or  $15,  while  still  in  the 
ranks.  As  a  forewoman  she  may  make  anywhere  from 
$10  to  $40  a  week.  The  surest  test  of  her  skill  is  to 
begin  in  the  lowest  place  and  work  gradually  up  till  she 
becomes  forewoman  at  ^40  a  week.  But  even  that  is  no 
test  of  her  business  ability.  Many  a  good  forewoman 
fails  utterly  as  an  employer ;  and  the  safest  method  is 
to  begin  modestly  and  let  the  business  grow.  To  begin 
on  an  extravagant  scale  and  let  it  shrink  is  both  foolish 
and  expensive. 

Th§re  is  no  school  anywhere  that  can  give  a  girl  the 
taste  required  in  this  artistic  work ;  but  there  are  many 
schools  in  which  the  trade  of  dressmaking  is  taught  and 
the  artistic  instinct  developed.  In  nearly  every  one  of 
the  large  cities  there  are  schools  of  this  sort,  and  some- 
times they  are  free.  The  one  that  I  have  selected  for  an 
example,  the  Pratt  Institute,  in  Brooklyn,  is  not  free, 
but  it  is  not  expensive  ;  and  its  course  of  training  in  this 
handicraft  will  give  you  a  good  idea  of  what  is  taught  in 
such  schools. 


i30  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

DEPARTMENT   OF    DOMESTIC  ART   OF    PRATT 
INSTITUTE. 

SEWING. 
TWO  LE880NS  A  WEEK  —  POUR  GRADES   OF  THREE   MONTHS  EACH. 

The  course  in  sewing  is  arranged  to  give  the  pupils  practical 
knowledge  of  all  varieties  of  hand  sewing  and  machine  sewing,  of 
the  methods  of  draughting,  cutting,  fining,  and  making  undergar- 
ments and  dresses  of  washable  materials  for  adults  and  children. 
The  instruction  also  includes  talks  upon  materials  used,  with  special 
reference  to  judicious  purchasing. 

Applicants,  except  those  for  Saturday  morning  classes,  must  be 
at  least  fifteen  years  of  age.  The  completion  of  the  first  three 
grades  of  the  Sewing  Course  fits  a  student  to  enter  the  Dressmak- 
ing Course. 

COURSE   OF   STUDY. 

First  Grade.  —  Hand-sewing,  mending.  Study  of  materials  and 
color. 

Second  Grade.  —  Machine-sewing,  draughting,  fitting,  making 
undergarments. 

Third  Grade.  —  Draughting,  cutting,  fitting,  making  unlined 
dresses. 

Fourth  Grade.  —  Advanced  machine  and  hand-sewing,  draught- 
ing, and  making  children's  dresses. 

SEWING. SPECIAL    COURSE. 

FOUR  MORNINGS  A  WEEK.  —  TWO  TERMS   OF   THREE   MONTHS  EACH. 

The  class  is  organized  in  September  only,  and  completes  in  two 
terms  the  full  course  as  described  above.  It  has  been  arranged  for 
those  who  can  devote  their  entire  time  to  the  study.  The  students 
meet  on  Monday,  Tuesday,  Thursday,  and  Friday,  from  9  to  1 
o'clock.  Sufficient  home  work  is  required  to  occupy  the  rest  of  the 
day.  Upon  the  completion  of  the  second  grade  the  pupils  execute 
orders  received  for  undergarments  and  wash-dresses.  Once  a  week 
they  attend  the  lectures  on  the  history  and  development  of  art 
given  by  the  Director  of  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts. 

Applicants  must  be  at  least  sixteen  years  of  age.  They  are  re- 
quired to  bring  for  inspection  a  garment  showing  some  knowledge 
of  hand  and  machine  sewing,  and  they  must  pass  an  examination  in 
hand  sewing  and  simple  fractions. 


THE  FASHIONABLE  DRESSMAKER.  431 


SEWING.  CHILDREN  S    COURSE. 

SIX  TERMS   OF  THREE   MONTHS   EACH. 

The  classes  meet  from  9.30  to  11.30  o'clock  on  Saturday  morn- 
ings,  and  are  for  children  between  the  ages  of  six  and  fifteen 
years.  The  training  covers  a  period  of  two  school-years.  It  in- 
cludes all  varieties  of  hand-sewing,  patching  and  mending,  with  the 
making  of  dolls'  garments,  in  order  to  apply  the  exercises  to  useful 
articles. 

This  course,  satisfactorily  completed,  fits  the  student  to  enter 
the  second  grade  of  the  regular  course. 


DRESSMAKING. 
TWO  LESSONS  A  WEEK  —  FOUR  GRADES   OF  THREE   MONTHS  EACH. 

This  course  is  arranged  to  give  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
underlying  principles  of  dressmaking,  with  as  much  practice  in 
their  application  as  the  time  will  permit.  It  has  been  found  valu- 
able to  those  who  wish  to  make  their  own  dresses,  or  to  superintend 
the  work,  and,  with  additional  practice,  has  proved  excellent  train- 
ing for  professional  dressmakers. 

In  the  regular  course,  for  which  a  certificate  may  be  received, 
two  lessons  a  week  of  three  hours  and  a  half  each  are  given,  two 
hours  being  devoted  to  practical  work,  and  one  hour  and  a  half  to 
free-hand  drawing,  color-study,  and  design.  There  are  classes 
without  drawing  for  those  who  are  unable  to  devote  so  much  time 
to  the  work.  For  such  courses,  however,  no  certificates  are 
granted. 

Applicants  must  be  over  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  must  submit 
samples  of  work  to  prove  their  knowledge  of  hand  and  machine- 
sewing,  the  use  of  the  tape-measure,  and  ability  to  make  simple 
garments  and  cambric  dresses,  as  taught  in  the  sewing-classes. 
The  student  who  successfully  completes  the  first,  second,  and  third 
grades  of  the  Sewing  Course  is  admitted  to  the  first  grade  of  the 
Dressmaking  Course  without  further  examination. 


COURSE  OF   STUDY. 

/  Draughting  and  making  walking-skirt. 
First  Gradi  )  Cutting,    fitting,    and   making    lined   waist 

j     from  pattern. 
I  Study  of  color,  form,  line,  and  texture. 


432 


HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


Second  Grade 


Third  Grade 


Fourth  Grade 


Costume  Design 


'Draughting  and  making  lined  waists. 

) Matching  stripes  and  plaids. 

[Study  of  artistic  and  hygienic  principles  of 

dress. 

/Draughting;    making   a   princesse    and    an 
I      evening  dress. 

)  Study  of  the  contour  and  poise  of  the  body 
J     as  essential  in  artistic  dress. 
|  Color  and  texture  for  house  and  evening 
\    dress. 

(  Draughting,  cutting,  and  making  jacket. 
<  Draughting  child's  dress  and  coat. 
(  Study  of  woollen  textiles. 

'Practice  in  the  use  of  the  pencil,  and  of 
water-color. 

Appearance  of  objects,   bows,   gowns,  and 
drapery. 

|  Outline  and  proportion  of  the  human  form. 

Study   of    historic   costume,    designing   of 
gowns. 


DRESSMAKING.  SPECIAL    COURSE. 


FIVE  DATS  A  WEEK  —  THREE   TERMS   OP   THREE   MONTH8   EACH. 

This  class  is  organized  in  September  only,  and  completes  in  nine 
months  the  full  course  in  dressmaking.  It  has  been  arranged  for 
those  who  can  devote  their  whole  time  to  the  study.  The  class 
meets  daily,  except  Saturday,  from  9  to  1,  and  from  2  to  5  o'clock. 

Two  afternoons  in  a  week  are  given  to  the  course  in  design,  and 
all  students  attend  the  weekly  lectures  of  the  Director  of  the  De- 
partment of  Fine  Arts  upon  the  history  of  art.  These  lectures  are 
fully  illustrated  by  lantern  views.  The  course  also  includes  lect- 
ures upon  hygienic,  artistic,  and  historic  dress,  and  instruction  in 
physical  training,  and  in  methods  of  keeping  accounts  and  making 
out  bills.  The  literature  of  hygienic  and  artistic  costume  is 
brought  to  the  notice  of  the  pupils,  and  they  are  expected  to  inform 
themselves  upon  these  subjects,  using  the  Library  of  the  Institute. 

Those  who  wish  to  become  practical  dressmakers  have  an  oppor- 
tunity in  this  class  to  make  dresses  for  others  in  order  to  gain 
experience,  and  are  thereby  able  to  defray  part  of  their  expenses. 

Applicants   should   be   over  sixteen  years  of  age,   and  have  a 


THE  FASHIONABLE  DRESSMAKER.  433 

knowledge  of  making  dresses  from  pattern.  They  must  bring  for 
inspection  a  dress  proving  their  ability  to  do  good  work,  and  must 
pass  a  written  examination  on  the  making  of  a  simple  dress. 

COSTUME    DESIGN. 

A  series  of  lessons  in  costume  design,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Department  of  Fine  Arts,  forms  a  part  of  the#  dressmaking  course. 
No  previous  training  in  drawing  is  required,  and  though  the  student 
may  not  become  technically  skilful  the  instruction  cultivates  the 
taste  and  is  found  most  helpful  in  home  decoration,  as  well  as  in 
the  selection  of  wearing  apparel. 

The  aim  is  to  train  the  eye  and  hand,  to  give  the  ability  to  see 
objects  in  their  true  proportions  and  to  represent  them  in  line, 
simple  light  and  shade,  and  water-color.  Practice  at  home  between 
the  lessons  is  required. 

There  is  a  special  equipment  of  models,  casts  of  ornament  and 
of  the  figure,  photographs  of  famous  statues  and  paintings,  and 
colored  plates  of  historic  costume. 

COURSE   OP   STUDY. 

Practice  in  the  use  of  the  pencil  and  of  water-color. 
Appearance  of  objects,  bows,  gowns,  and  drapery. 
Outline  of  proportion  of  the  human  form. 
Study  of  historic  costume,  designing  of  hats  and  gowns. 

COSTUME    DESIGN SPECIAL    COURSE. 

This  course  is  arranged  for  two  years  and  embraces  work  in 
design,  cast  and  still-life  drawing,  perspective,  water-color,  and 
figure-sketching  in  the  Department  of  Fine  Arts,  and  special  study 
of  Costume  Design  in  the  Department  of  Domestic  Art.  Pencil, 
ink,  and  water-color  are  the  mediums  used.  The  object  of  the 
course  is  to  train  students  to  become  illustrators,  or  designers  of 
costume. 


TUITION 

Day       Evening 
Classes.    Classes. 
Sewing ;  two  lessons  per  week.  Per  Term. 

First,  second,  third,  and  fourth  grades,  each  . .     $5  00    $2  00 

Children's  Saturday  morning  class 2  00       — 

Special  course,  four  lessons  per  week 15  00       — 


434  HELPS  FOR    AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


Day        Evening 
Clauses.    Classes. 
Dressmaking;  two  lessons  per  week.  Per  Term. 

First  grade $15  00    $5  00 

Second  grade  (including  chart) 15  00     10  00 

Third  and  fourth  grades,  each 15  00     10  00 

Special  course,  five  lessons  per  week 25  00       — 

Love  the  little  trade  which  thou  hast  learned,  and  be  content 
therewith.  —  Marcus  Aurelius. 


THE  CO&TUMEBS   CHANCES.  435 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 


THE    COSTUMER  S    CHANCES. 


The  business  faculty  is  not  a  matter  of  sex ;  women 
have  it  almost  as  often  as  men  are  without  it.  Then  let 
her  who  has  the  gift  and  the  need  to  exercise  it  plunge 
into  the  vortex  of  trade  to  her  delight  and  profit.  — 
Helen  C.  Candee. 

I  have  already  referred  to  the  misuse  of  the  term 
"  ladies/'  and  I  want  to  emphasize  it.  It  is  incorrect,  a 
mistake  in  language,  to  speak  of  yourself  or  of  any  other 
persons  as  "  ladies  "  in  connection  with  work  of  any  kind. 
The  term  "  lady"  presupposes  leisure.  In  the  same  way 
the  word  "  gentleman  "  carries  a  like  significance.  The 
term  "gentleman  of  business"  is  never  used,  and  you 
never  heard  of  a  "  sales-gentleman."  Are  n't  the  terms 
very  ridiculous  ?  And  yet  your  man  of  business  is  more 
often  than  not  the  polished,  well-bred  man  of  society 
with  a  position  which  no  one  can  dispute.  You  can  be 
well-bred  women,  even  if  you  are  work-women.  You 
may  be  ladies  at  your  leisure  ;  but  insisting  on  the  term 
won't  make  you  so.  On  the  contrary,  the  very  use  of 
the  word  in  connection  with  work  stamps  you  at  once  as 
ignorant,  if  not  ill-bred.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women" 

The  woman  who  has  no  knowledge  of  trade  except  the 
costumer's  must  know  that  she  starts  with  this  handi- 
cap —  that  she  is  in  direct  competition  with  a  large  army 
of  people  who  are  familiar  with  every  detail  of  their 


436  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

business,  and  who  already  have  a  clientele.  These 
people  may  be  the  children  of  shop-keepers ;  they  have 
in  infancy  played  around  the  shop,  and  have  been  satu- 
rated with  shop  atmosphere  and  shop  talk.  —  Helen  C. 
Candee. 

Simply  because  a  lot  of  humble,  hard-working  people 
are  engaged  in  trade,  why  should  it  be  considered  beneath 
the  dignity  of  persons  of  cultivation  ?  —  Helen  C. 
Candee. 

What,  is  the  Jay  more  precious  than  the  Lark 
Because  his  feathers  are  more  beautiful  ? 
Or  is  the  Adder  better  than  the  Eel, 
Because  his  painted  skin  contents  the  eye  ? 
Oh,  no,  good  Kate  ;  neither  art  thou  the  worse 
For  this  poor  Furniture,  and  mean  Array. 

Shakespeare. 

A  rival  is  from  the  start  an  enemy  to  be  discouraged  if 
possible. — Helen  C.  Candee. 

A  woman  who  starts  newly  in  trade  must  recognize 
that  she  places  herself  at  once  in  competition  with  her 
superiors  in  business.  When  she  begins  she  may  be 
much  flattered  and  much  encouraged  by  admiring  friends, 
but  the  unpleasant  facts  which  never  enter  their  unprac- 
tical minds  must  not  lie  unconsidered  before  commenc- 
ing. —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

You  must  understand  that  there  is  dressmaking  and 
dressmaking.  It  is  not  the  old-fashioned  kind  that  I 
commend  to  you,  but  the  new,  which  has  originality,  idea, 
and  principles  about  it.  The  principles  are  beauty  and 
comfort j  the  idea  is  becomingness  and  health;  and  all 


THE  COSTUMEB'S   CHANCES.  437 

of  it  combined  constitutes  originality.  —  u  Occupations  for 
Women." 

"  Artistic  and  hygienic  dressing  "  began  with  Cynthia 
Bates,  when  she  invented  the  waist  that  should  take  the 
place  of  corsets ;  it  was  to  be  adapted  to  .the  figure  rather 
than  force  the  figure  to  be  adapted  to  it.  Miss  Bates 
was  a  wise  woman  ;  she  saw  that  invalidism  for  women 
was  rapidly  going  out  of  fashion,  and  that  to  be  health- 
ful was  to  be  correct.  "  Have  everything  as  pretty  as 
you  like,"  she  said,  "  but  above  all  be  true  to  nature."  — 
"  Occupations  for  Women." 

But  that  was  only  the  beginning,  and  it  was  left  to 
another  woman  to  make  a  rounding-out  of  the  idea  of 
proper  dress.  If  there  is  anybody  in  the  world  that  does 
not  believe  that  a  healthful  dress  can  be  a  pretty  one  I 
only  wish  that  she  could  see  some  of  the  delicious  gowns 
that  Mrs.  Annie  Jenness  Miller  evolved  from  that  keen 
brain  of  hers.  They  keep  close  enough  to  the  line  of 
the  fashion  not  to  seem  queer,  but  each  gown  is  original 
and  picturesque,  having  in  it  the  very  spirit  of  graceful 
and  becoming  dressing.  — "  Occupations  for  Women." 

We  sacrifice  to  Dress,  till  household  joys 
And  comforts  cease.     Dress  drains  our  cellar  dry, 
And  keeps  our  larder  lean.     Puts  out  our  fires, 
And  introduces  Hunger,  Frost,  and  Wo, 
Where  Peace  and  Hospitality  might  reign. 

Cowper. 

To  make  a  success  the  aim  should  be  to  excel  other 
shopkeepers  in  some  one  attractive  particular.  It  is  in 
general  true  that  large  shops  sell  cheaper  than  small 
ones  can,    for  certain   articles  are  sacrificed    simply   to 


438  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS    GIRLS. 

entice  customers  into  the  place  with  the  hope  that  other 
goods  will  be  purchased  at  the  same  time.  Therefore 
there  is  but  little  hope  that  the  small  experimental  shop 
you  are  fitting  up  in  your  secret  imagining  will  divert 
buyers  of  staple  necessities  from  the  department  or  other 
large  stores.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

The  bait  you  can  throw  out  to  the  moneyed  public  is 
something  that  depends  upon  yourself,  your  individual 
talents  or  gifts.  It  may  be  that  your  special  training  at 
home  and  in  society  has  given  you  an  insight  into  the 
needs  or  fancies  of  the  leisure  class  that  no  one  could 
have  who  has  been  denied  your  advantages.  This  ought 
to  help  you  in  supplying  those  persons  with  a  class  of 
goods  which  you  may  have  looked  for  in  vain  when  you 
stood  on  the  customer's  side  of  the  counter.  —  Helen  C. 
Candee. 

Processions,  cavalcades,  and  all  that  fund  of  gay  frip- 
pery, furnished  out  by  tailors,  barbers,  and  tire-women, 
mechanically  influence  the  mind  into  veneration ;  an 
emperor  in  his  night-cap  would  not  meet  with  half  the 
respect  of  an  emperor  with  a  crown.  —  Goldsmith. 

I  venture  to  say  the  reason  why  so  few  dressmakers 
take  up  artistic  and  hygienic  work  is  because  it  does  re- 
quire originality  and  artistic  instinct  to  make  it  success- 
ful, but  the  girl  or  woman  who  is  artistic  in  her  feelings 
and  who  has  a  gift  of  expressing  these  feelings  has  here 
a  field  open  before  her  that  she  will  find  very  remunera- 
tive. It  requires  more  skill  to  make  dresses  in  this  way 
than  in  the  stereotyped  fashion,  because  so  much  depends 
on  individual  expression.  —  "  Occupations  for   Women.'1'' 

There  are  other  branches  of  dressmaking  to  which  a 
clever  girl  may  turn  her  attention.     Making  over  dresses 


THE  COSTUMES' S   CHANCES.  439 

is  one.  There  is  a  knack  in  making  an  old  dress  look 
like  a  new  one ;  and  this  knack  once  acquired  is  worth 
money  to  the  woman  who  will  take  pains  to  learn  it 
thoroughly.  There  are  plenty  of  women  who  are  willing 
to  pay  to  have  their  old  garments  utilized.  It  is  an  econ- 
omy which  the  majority  are  compelled,  to  practise ;  the 
only  trouble,  so  far,  has  been  in  having  it  satisfactorily 
done.  — "  Occupations  for  Women." 

Still  another  phase  for  the  home  dressmaker,  one  that 
requires  special  taste  and  ability,  is  that  of  making 
dresses  for  growing  girls  in  the  awkward  age  that  comes 
between  childhood  and  womanhood.  Many  mothers  are 
at  their  wits'  end  to  know  how  to  dress  a  girl  becomingly, 
and  the  dressmaker  who  makes  stylish  women's  clothes 
almost  always  fails  when  she  tries  to  turn  out  something 
suitable  for  the  woman's  daughter.  —  "  Occupations  for 
Women." 

The  idea  of  her  life  shall  sweetly  creep 

Into  his  study  of  imagination, 

And  every  lovely  organ  of  her  life, 

Shall  come  apparell'd  in  more  precious  habit, 

More  moving-delicate  and  full  of  life 

Into  the  eye  and  prospect  of  his  soul. 

Shakespeare. 

A  fellow  that  hath  had  losses,  and  one  that  hath  two 
gowns  and  everything  handsome  about  him. 

Shakespeare. 

Through  tatter'd  clothes  small  vices  do  appear ; 
Robes  and  furr'd  gowns  hide  all. 

Shakespeare. 


440  HELPS   FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

If  you  have  a  little  money  it  seems  a  stupendous  haz- 
ard to  put  the  precious  pile  into  a  venture  of  your  own; 
and  it  seems  even  worse  to  borrow  money  for  the  purpose, 
but  these  are  the  thoughts  of  weakness,  not  of  cour- 
ageous purpose.  Think  of  all  the  "  other  girls,"  as  Mrs. 
A.  D.  T.  Whitney  calls  the  hereditary  workers,  and  how 
many  of  them  succeed  in  little  business  ventures,  as 
dressmakers,  hairdressers,  milliners,  etc.  It  surely  is  no 
harder  for  us  than  for  them,  and  we  would  reject  the 
idea  of  a  lesser  courage.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

i 

Advice  from  the  right  quarter  is  good,  yet  some  noted 
business  successes  have  come  to  women  who  have  made 
their  venture  against  advice.  But  it  is  safe  to  say  that 
an  able  woman  who  has  the  courage  to  risk  involving 
herself  in  debt,  and  of  bringing  the  consequences  of  failure 
upon  those  she  loves,  possesses  the  qualities  of  mind  that 
would  insure  success  in  anything  she  might  undertake. — 
Helen  C.  Candee. 


MILLINERY.  441 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

MILLINERY. 

"  As  good  be  out  of  the  world  as  out  of  the  fashion."  —  Colley  Gibber. 

As  long  as  women  wear  hats  or  bonnets  there  will  be 
work  for  the  milliners,  and  the  good  milliners  must 
always  stand  a  better  chance  than  the  poor  ones.  This 
work,  like  the  best  kind  of  dressmaking,  is  both  a  trade 
and  an  art,  and  with  the  art  instinct  and  the  knowledge 
of  the  trade  you  must  combine  business  ability  to  con- 
duct your  own  establishment  successfully. 

You  have  noticed  before  this,  even  if  you  are  still  in 
short  skirts,  that  some  girls  can  trim  hats  beautifully, 
getting  the  very  best  effect  out  of  every  stray  bit  of 
material,  putting  the  right  flower  or  feather  or  ribbon 
always  in  just  the  right  place  ;  and  that  other  girls  have 
no  such  instinct,  but  must  apply  to  their  friends  or  the 
milliner.  If  you  are  one  of  the  girls  of  the  first  kind 
there  is  every  probability  that  with  proper  training  you 
can  go  beyond  the  trade  of  millinery  and  reach  the  art. 
Even  if  you  belong  to  the  second  class  the  right  kind  of 
training  will  do  a  great  deal  for  you. 

It  is  to  the  art,  rather  than  the  trade,  that  you  must 
look  for  any  pronounced  success.  Almost  any  girl  may 
make  a  milliner  of  some  sort ;  but  if  you  become  one  I 
hope  that  your  ambition  will  be  to  become  a  milliner  of 
the  best  sort.  The  ordinary  girl  in  a  milliner's  shop  is 
very  easily  replaced,  and  places  that  are  easily  filled 
never  command  the  best  pay.  But  the  really  artistic  girl 
is  not  easy  to  replace.     She  may  be  one  of  the  youngest 


442  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

girls  in  the  shop,  and  yet  show  such  skill  in  design  and 
arrangement,  such  an  aptitude  for  the  artistic  part  of  the 
work,  that  her  employers  will  not  lose  her  if  they  can 
help  it. 

If  your  ambition  is  to  own  your  own  millinery  estab- 
lishment, which  is  a  very  reasonable  ambition  for  you, 
or  indeed  a  business  establishment  of  any  kind,  let  me 
urge  you  to  grow  up  into  it  slowly  and  naturally.  You 
wish  to  do  a  business  of  $10,000  a  year  ?  Then  consider 
how  much  better  you  can  do  it  after  you  have  had  the 
experience  of  doing  $5,000  worth  of  work  a  year,  or 
$5,000  worth  after  the  experience  of  $1,000  worth.  Do 
not  be  in  too  much  of  a  hurry. 

There  is  an  important  trade  distinction  in  this  business 
between  milliners  and  trimmers.  Any  woman  who  is 
connected  with  the  production  or  alteration  or  sale  of 
hats  or  bonnets  may  be  a  milliner,  but  the  trimmers  have 
their  branch  to  themselves ;  and  it  is  in  trimming  that 
taste  and  skill  are  specially  needed.  "  Trimmers  are 
born,  not  made,"  is  a  common  saying  in  the  millinery 
shops,  and  there  is  at  least  a  basis  of  truth  in  the  asser- 
tion. 

As  a  girl  in  a  milliner's  shop  you  may  not  earn  more 
than  three  dollars  a  week  in  money  at  first,  but  you  will 
lay  there  the  foundation  of  your  training.  You  can 
hardly  expect,  as  an  ordinary  worker,  to  rise  above 
twelve  dollars  a  week.  But  there  are  extraordinary 
workers,  you  must  remember.  If  you  develop  sufficient 
taste  and  skill  to  be  worth  more  to  your  employers  you 
will  almost  certainly  receive  more.  When  you  are  able  to 
superintend  the  work  of  a  shop,  as  forewoman,  you  may 
command  twenty-five  or  thirty  dollars  a  week,  in  one  of 
the  larger  cities.  And  when  you  have  reached  that 
stage,  what  you  can  do  on  your  own  account  depends 
largely  upon  how  much  money  you  havj  saved,  and  how 


MILLINERY.  443 

much  business  ability  you  have.  Kemember  that  artis- 
tic ability  is  no  proof  of  business  ability.  Many  a  first- 
rate  milliner  has  no  business  ability  whatever. 

In  nearly  every  trade,  and  millinery  is  no  exception, 
there  is  a  difference  of  opinion  about  the  comparative 
value  of  shop  training  and  trade-school  training,  and 
about  which  should  come  before  the  other.  And  the 
weight  of  opinion  here,  as  elsewhere,  is  that  the  two 
should  come  as  nearly  together  as  possible,  so  that  the 
theory  which  the  pupil  learns  in  school  to-day  she  may 
put  into  practice  in  the  shop  to-morrow. 

There  are  many  schools  in  which  the  milliner's  trade 
is  taught,  and  in  a  large  number  of  them  the  instruction 
is  based  upon  the  system  used  in  the  Pratt  Institute,  in 
Brooklyn.  So  I  go  to  the  fountain  head  and  give  you 
here  the  course  of  instruction  in  that  institution.  I 
must  explain  to  you  that  in  the  Pratt  Institute  both 
millinery  and  dressmaking  are  included  in  the  "  Depart- 
ment of  Domestic  Art,"  though  either  may  be  taken  up 
separately.  The  dressmaking  course  you  will  find  in 
the  chapter  on  dressmaking;  and  I  give  here  the  sched- 
ule of  the  remainder  of  the  Domestic  Art  course,  includ- 
ing both  millinery  and  art-needlework. 

PRATT    INSTITUTE,    BROOKLYN. 

DEPARTMENT    OF    DOMESTIC    ART. 

This  department  provides  comprehensive  and  systematic  courses 
of  study  in  those  branches  which  are  related  to  healthful  and 
appropriate  clothing  of  the  body,  and  to  household  decoration. 

The  laws  of  Nature,  as  interpreted  by  science  and  art,  are  also 
studied  in  their  bearing  upon  the  physical  development  and  cloth- 
ing of  the  human  body.  Such  study  leads  to  more  healthful  liv- 
ing, and  to  the  cultivation  of  good  taste  and  wise  economy,  and 
supplements  the  education  usually  gained  in  school  life. 

The  courses  now  given  are  : 


444 


HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


Normal  Course    . 

Sewing     .... 
Dressmaking    .     . 

Millinery     .     .     . 

Costume  Design    . 
Art-Needlework 

Physical  Training 


•Sewing;  dressmaking;  millinery;  drawing; 
i      physical  training ;  psychology ;  history  of 
|      education ;  normal  methods,  and  practice- 
^     teaching. 
Hand  and  machine  sewing ;  draughting  and 

making  garments  ;  study  of  materials. 
/Draughting,    cutting,    fitting,    and   making 
I     dresses  and  jackets.    Form,  color,  design, 
(     study  of  textiles. 


and   trimming   hats, 
Form,  color,  design, 


Draughting,    making, 
bonnets,  and  caps, 
study  of  materials. 

i  Sketching  dresses  and  hats  in  pencil  and  in 
water-color;    outline   and   proportion   of 
the  human  form;  historic  costume. 
(Freehand    drawing;     design;     color;    art- 
(      needlework. 

^Swedish  educational  gymnastics  ;  carefully 
j  graded  exercises  with  stationary  and  hand 
)  apparatus  to  stimulate  and  develop  all 
*     parts  and  organs  of  the  body. 


general  information. 

Instruction.  —  The  courses  of  instruction  are  carefully  graded, 
not  only  to  insure  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  subject,  but  also 
to  impress  upon  the  pupil  the  value  of  order,  accuracy,  economy, 
and  logical  sequence.  The  methods  of  instruction  are  such  as  lead 
pupils  to  grasp  the  artistic  and  scientific  principles  underlying  all 
good  work,  and  encourage  them  to  observe  and  judge  for  them- 
selves, thereby  gaining  self-reliance. 

The  number  of  pupils  in  each  class  is  limited,  that  all  may  have 
opportunity  for  practical  work  under  the  direction  of  the  teacher. 
The  instruction  is  given  by  means  of  lectures  and  recitations  as 
well  as  by  practical  work. 

Equipment.  —  The  rooms  of  the  department  are  fully  equipped 
with  the  essential  apparatus.  Casts  of  the  best  sculpture,  photo- 
graphs, colored  plates  of  costume,  and  many  specimens  of  textile 
fabrics,  both  ancient  and  modern,  afford  pupils  ample  material  for 
study.  The  Library  is  also  an  important  factor  in  the  usefulness  of 
this  department.     Books  treating  of  domestic  art  and  science  are 


MILLINERY.  445 

constantly  added,   and   material  on   class   topics   is    collected  for 
pupils. 

Admission  and  Examinations .  —  The  school  year  is  divided  into 
three  terms  of  three  months  each,  beginning  in  September,  Janu- 
ary, and  April,  respectively.  Classes  in  all  courses  are  organized 
in  September,  December,  and  March,  except  Normal  and  Special 
classes,  which  begin  in  September  only. 

MILLINERY. 
TWO  LESSONS  A  WEEK  —  FOUR  GRADES  OF  THREE   MONTHS  EACH. 

The  object  of  this  course  is  to  give  a  thorough  training  in  the 
practical  and  artistic  principles  of  millinery,  so  that  the  student 
may  be  fitted  to  make  head  coverings  according  to  the  best  methods, 
and  may  have  a  cultivated  taste  in  color  and  design  as  related  to 
costumes.  The  first  part  of  the  training  is  valuable  in  developing 
lightness  of  touch  in  the  making  of  bows  and  trimmings  used  in 
dressmaking  as  well  as  in  millinery. 

Applicants  must  be  over  sixteen  years  of  age,  and  able  to  do 
neat  hand  sewing.  They  must  also  pass  an  examination  in  the  use 
of  the  tape-measure,  and  in  accurate  cutting  in  straight  lines. 

In  the  regular  course,  for  which  a  certificate  may  be  granted, 
two  lessons  a  week  of  three  hours  and  a  half  each  are  given,  two 
hours  being  devoted  to  practical  work  and  one  hour  and  a  half  to 
freehand  drawing,  color-study,  and  design. 

For  those  who  do  not  wish  to  spend  so  much  time  in  the  study 
there  are  classes  without  drawing.  No  certificates,  however,  are 
given  for  these  classes. 

COURSE   OF  STUDY. 

{Facing  and  finishing  hat-brims. 
Making  bows,  trimming  hats. 
Study  of  form,  line,  color,  and  texture. 
{Designing,  draughting,  and  making  frames. 
Making    and  trimming   covered  hats    and 
bonnets. 

Winter  Season. 
Making  velvet   hats   and    bonnets ;    toques 

and  evening  bonnets. 
Third  and  Fourth 

Grades  .     .     .     .    \  Spring  Season. 

Making  wire  frames  and  straw  hats ;   lace 

and  shirred  hats  and  bonnets ;  children's 

hats. 


446  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

/Practice  in  the  use  of  the  pencil  and   of 
\     water-color. 
Costume  Design.         J  Appearance  of  objects,  drapery,  bows,  hats. 
\  Outline  and  proportion  of  the  head. 
/Study  of   historic   costume;    designing  of 
\    hats. 

MILLINERY  —  SPECIAL   COURSE. 
FIVE    DATS  A  WEEK— TWO   TERMS   OF  TWO    MONTHS  EACH. 

This  class,  completing  in  four  months  the  full  course  described 
above,  is  organized  in  September  only,  and  has  been  arranged  for 
those  who  can  devote  their  whole  time  to  the  study,  as  well  as  for 
those  who  wish  to  become  milliners. 

The  class  meets  daily,  except  Saturday,  from  9  to  1,  and  from  2 
to  5  o'clock.  Two  afternoons  in  a  week  are  devoted  to  the  course 
in  design.  The  course  also  includes  lectures  upon  hygienic,  artis- 
tic, and  historic  dress,  and  instruction  in  the  methods  of  keeping 
accounts  and  making  out  bills.  The  literature  of  hygienic  and 
artistic  costume  is  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  pupils,  and  they  are 
expected  to  inform  themselves  upon  these  subjects,  using  the 
Library  of  the  Institute. 

Applicants  must  pass  an  examination  in  hand  sewing  and  in  sim- 
ple fractions,  and  must  also  submit  for  inspection  a  hat  showing 
their  ability  to  undertake  the  course. 

ART-NEEDLEWORK. 

FULL  COURSE — TWO   YEARS,  FIVE   LESSON8  EACH  WEEK. 

The  object  of  the  course  is  to  teach  the  principles  and  methods 
of  art-needlework,  and  at  the  same  time  to  cultivate  artistic  feeling 
and  judgment  in  the  choice  of  design,  color,  and  material  in  arti- 
cles for  home  decoration. 

COURSE   OF    STUDY. 

p         T  f  Laid-work  on  flannels,  scallops,  and  initials. 

I  Drawn-work,  lace-work,  muslin-work. 

Part  II.     .     .     .       Kensington  work,  applique,  tapestry  staining. 
Part  III.   .     .     .       Ecclesiastical  embroidery,  Spanish  laid-work, 
metal-work. 

The  course  includes  freehand  drawing,  studies  in  water-color, 
and  that  work  in  embroidery  which  best  illustrates  the  principles 


MILLINERY.  447 

of  design  in  decorative  needlework.  Talks  are  given  on  historic 
ornament  and  the  use  of  various  materials  applied  to  general  house 
decoration. 

Applicants  for  the  morning  or  afternoon  classes  must  be  at  least 
sixteen  years  of  age.     The  afternoon  class  meets  twice  a  week. 

TUITION    FEES    FOR    MILLINERY   AND    ART-NEEDLEWORK. 

Day  Evening 

Classes.  Classes. 
Millinery;  two  lessons  per  week.                                          Per  Term. 

First,  second,  third,  and  fourth  grades,  each..   $10  00  $5  00 

Special  course,  five  lessons  per  week 25  00  — 

Art-needlework. 

Three  or  five  mornings  per  week 10  00  — 

Two  afternoons  per  week 5  00  — 

Children's  Saturday  morning  class 2  00  — 

The  fashion  wears  out  more  apparel  than  the   man.  —  Shake- 
speare. 


448  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


CHAPTEE  XXXVIII. 

FICKLE    FASHION'S    WAGE    TO    MANY    WORKERS. 

Fashion  is  the  custoiri  of  the  great.  —  Addison. 

Fools  invent  fashions,  and  wise  men  follow  them. 
—  Rousseau. 

The  secret  of  fashion  is  to  surprise  and  never  to  dis- 
appoint. —  Bulwer. 

Fashion  makes  fools  of  some,  sinners  of  others,  and 
slaves  of  all.  —  Shaw. 

We  take  our  ideas  from  sounds  which  folly .  has  in- 
vented; fashion,  bon  ton,  and  virtu  are  the  names  of 
certain  idols,  to  which  we  sacrifice  the  genuine  pleasures 
of  the  soul ;  in  this  world  of  resemblance  we  are  con- 
tented with  personating  happiness,  to  feel  it  as  an  art 
beyond  us.  —  Mackenzie. 

Fashion,  being  the  art  of  those  who  must  purchase 
notice  at  some  cheaper  rate  than  that  of  being  beautiful, 
loves  to  do  rash  and  extravagant  things  ;  she  must  be 
forever  new,  or  she  becomes  insipid.  —  Lowell. 

If  you  lack  taste  you  cannot  learn  to  be  a  milliner. 
But  if  a  woman  has  a  good  eye  for  color  effects  she  has 
a  good  chance  to  make  a  living.  To  all  those  who  think 
of  taking  up  millinery  let  me  say,  first  of  all,  you  must 
have  a  taste  for  combining  color  and  materials.  — "  What 
Women  can  Earn." 


FASHION'S    WAGE  TO  MANY   WORKERS,     449 

Every  woman  cannot  become  a  trimmer,  but  nearly  all 
can  be  good  milliners.  "  Trimmers  are  born,  not  made," 
is  a  phrase  we  constantly  hear,  but  it  is  possible  with 
practice  to  become  a  trimmer,  though  the  style  may  not 
be  as  chic  as  that  of  a  French  artiste.  —  u  What  Women 
can  Earn." 

The  work  is  at  all  times  fascinating,  though  during 
the  height  of  the  season  it  is  often  laborious,  as  the 
hours  of  work  cannot  well  be  regulated,  and  in  a  crowded 
workroom  it  is  extremely  uncomfortable.  —  "  What  Wo- 
men  can  Earn." 

Many  girls  have  a  natural  taste  and  talent  for  the  art, 
having  for  years  made  all  their  own  hats  and  bonnets  ; 
for  these  a  course  or  two  at  a  school  is  a  great  benefit,  as 
they  will  learn  the  simpler  ways  of  working  and  save 
much  time.  There  are  various  other  reasons  for  women 
taking  up  millinery:  For  their  own  use,  thus  having 
more  at  less  cost,  and  we  all  know  the  cost  of  materials 
is  but  a  small  part  of  the  price  of  our  headgear ;  as  a 
fad,  because  others  do ;  and,  again,  having  to  earn  their 
living,  girls  imagine  there  is  more  money  made  and  less 
time  spent  than  at  other  trades.  For  the  few  there  is 
much  money ;  for  the  many,  less.  The  seasons  are 
short,  and  the  greater  number  are  employed  only  seven 
or  eight  months  during  the  year.  —  "What  Women  can 
Earn." 

When  a  girl  decides  that  she  will  take  up  millinery  as 
a  trade  or  a  pastime  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  decide 
where  she  will  study  —  in  a  workroom  or  a  school.  The 
former  is  the  old-fashioned  way,  and  many  still  cling  to 
it  as  being  the  better.  As  to  schools,  there  are  schools 
and  schools,  and  each  student  must  decide  for  herself 
which   she   prefers.       Some   schools   charge    a    certain 


450  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS  GIBLS. 

amount,  furnish  materials,  do  not  limit  the  time,  teach 
what  a  girl  asks  to  be  taught,  and  advertise  to  guarantee 
places.  The  latter  clause  is  the  most  attractive,  as  every 
woman  likes  to  find  a  place  ready  when  wanted.  — 
"  What  Women  can  Earn." 

There  are  schools  teaching  a  system,  —  in  nearly  every 
case  the  Pratt  Institute  system,  —  though  changed  some- 
what to  meet  the  requirements  of  the  different  schools 
and  to  suit  the  ideas  of  each  individual  teacher.  The 
instructors  give  a  certain  number  of  lessons,  teach  a 
system  during  that  time  which  thoroughly  covers  the 
foundation  of  the  work,  and  charge  a  regular  price  for 
the  instruction.  The  system  generally  comprises  seventy- 
two  lessons  of  two  hours  each,  and  the  length  of  time 
taken  depends  on  the  number  of  lessons  given  during  a 
week,  some  schools  giving  only  two,  some  four,  some 
five.  The  prices  of  tuition  also  vary,  some  schools 
charging  as  high  as  $30  for  the  entire  course,  others  as 
low  as  $18.  —  "  What  Women  can  Earn." 

Each  pupil  furnishes  her  own  materials,  which  consist 
of  Canton  flannel,  cheesecloth,  percaline  or  satine,  and 
tissue  paper  for  practice  work.  By  selecting  her  color- 
ing carefully  she  is  able  to  make  a  hat  or  bonnet  decid- 
edly up  to  date.  The  expense  of  the  practice  materials 
is  $3  or  $4,  and  usually  three  good  hats  need  to  be  fur- 
nished in  addition  to  the  mourning  work.  The  course 
embraces  wiring,  folds,  bindings,  and  facings  of  all  kinds  ; 
bows  and  rosettes  ;  trimming ;  covering  plain  hats  ;  mak- 
ing bonnets  and  small  hats  ;  black  silk  and  crepe  work ; 
and  making  of  wire  and  buckram  frames.  —  Bessie  A. 
Losey,  in  "  What  Women  can  Earn." 

After  a  girl  decides  where  she  is  to  study  she  must 
go  into  the  work  with  all  her  might ;  give  her  entire 


FASHION'S   WAGE  TO  MANY   WOBKERS.      451 

time  to  it  if  necessary ;  read  what  she  may  see  in  the 
papers ;  visit  the  different  millinery  show-rooms  in  the 
city,  using  her  eyes  well ;  practice  out  of  class  hours  (as 
in  no  other  way  can  she  become  sure  of  herself)  ;  make 
frequent  notes,  and  ask  questions  whenever  in  doubt. 
By  the  time  she  finishes  the  first  course  she,  as  well  as 
her  teacher,  can  tell  whether  it  will  pay  to  continue,  and 
it  is  always  well  to  have  a  chat  with  the  teacher  on  the 
question  of  continuing  or  not.  —  Bessie  A.  Losey. 

English  women  lag  strangely  behind  American  and 
French  women  in  the  conduct  of  business  enterprise, 
though  whether  from  lack  of  talent  or  opportunity  is 
not  clear.  Probably  they  possess  neither  the  talent  of 
the  French  nor  the  opportunity  of  the  Americans.  In 
retail  trading  women  take  a  much  larger  part,  though 
here  their  operations,  if  on  any  large  scale,  are  generally 
confined  to  one  or  two  trades,  chiefly  those  concerned 
with  women's  dress  and  outfitting.  Women  do  not  always 
realize  that  the  management  of  even  a  small  business  re- 
quires knowledge,  resource,  and  an  unwearied  attention 
to  details.  —  "  Women1  s  Work."     \English.~\ 

When  a  girl  has  completed  the  course  her  first  thought 
is  to  procure  a  place,  and  her  school  will  always  help 
when  possible.  Much  depends  on  a  girl's  personal  ap- 
pearance. She  should  be  neatly  and  plainly  dressed, 
with  scrupulously  clean  hands  and  finger-nails  ;  a  pleas- 
ant face  and  greeting,  with  some  self-confidence.  It  is 
perfectly  natural  to  shrink  when  facing  something  un- 
tried, but  it  must  not  be  too  apparent  when  applying  for 
a  place.  —  Bessie  A.  Losey. 

In  nearly  every  case  after  taking  an  entire  course  the 
pupil  is  worth  $6  a  week,  and   many  are   worth   $8. 


452  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Whether  her  wages  are  raised  as  time  passes  depends  a 
great  deal  on  herself.  —  Bessie  A.  Losey. 

No  one  must  think  that  after  spending  only  a  few 
months  in  studying  she  is  finished,  and  will  make  a 
success  in  the  first  venture.  Every  season  brings  some- 
thing to  learn.  —  Bessie  A.  Losey. 

Three  dollars  a  week  appears  to  be  the  lowest  price 
paid  anywhere  in  a  millinery  establishment  or  in  the 
millinery  branch  of  the  department  stores.  This  is 
almost  invariably  for  the  very  young  girls  of  the  office- 
boy  and  cash-girl  type,  and  is  probably  as  much  as  girls 
of  the  same  age  earn  elsewhere. —  "  What  Women  can 
Earn" 

To  those  who  are  actually  milliners  of  different 
degrees  of  experience  the  weekly  pay  varies  from  $5 
and  $6a  week  to  about  $10  and  $12.  Most  of  the  girls 
will  probably  never  rise  above  the  latter  amount  of 
compensation,  because  they  merely  want  to  earn  a  living 
while  waiting  for  the  almost  inevitable  marriage,  and 
having  no  especial  talent  for  color  and  design.  —  "  What 
Women  can  Earn" 

Really  good  milliners,  with  common  sense  and  the 
knack  of  the  artist,  may  reasonably  hope  in  time  to  be 
placed  in  charge  of  a  department  in  the  store,  or  to 
superintend  the  work  in  a  regular  establishment.  Such 
women  can  earn  excellent  salaries.  Beginning  with  from 
$12  to  $15  a  week,  they  may  hope  to  rise  to  $20,  $25, 
and  even  to  $30  a  week,  as  forewomen.  —  "  What  Women 
can  Earn." 

When  a  forewoman  becomes  worth  $25  or  $30  a  week 
the  proprietor  is  dangerously  near  the  point  of   losing 


FASHION'S    WAGE  TO  MANY    WOKKEBS.      453 

her.  It  all  depends  on  the  forewoman  herself.  She  may 
become  a  proprietor  herself  if  she  has  saved  enough 
money  to  begin  operations  on  her  own  account  and  has 
the  courage  to  undertake  them.  — "  What  Women  can 
Earn:' 

Natural  laws  impose  severe  limitation's,  and  will  prob- 
ably continue  to  impose  much  the  same  restrictions,  as 
to  health  and  strength,  on  women  workers,  and  when 
these  marry  there  arise  ties  which  conflict,  and,  as  far 
as  one  can  see,  will  always  conflict,  with  the  efficiency 
and  regularity  of  the  labor  of  married  women. — 
"  Women's  Work." 

There  is  a  set  of  people  whom  I  cannot  bear,  —  the 
pinks  of  fashionable  propriety,  —  whose  every  word  is 
precise,  and  whose  every  movement  is  unexceptionable ; 
but  who,  though  versed  in  all  the  categories  of  polite 
behavior,  have  not  a  particle  of  soul  or  cordiality  about 
them.  —  Chalmers. 

Let  women  adopt  that  chaste  and  simple,  that  neat 
and  elegant  style  of  dress,  which  so  advantageously  dis- 
plays the  charms  of  real  beauty,  instead  of  those  prepos- 
terous fashions  and  fantastical  draperies  of  dress  which, 
while  they  conceal  some  few  defects  of  person,  expose 
so  many  defects  of  mind,  and  sacrifice  to  ostentatious 
finery  all  those  mild,  amiable,  and  modest  virtues  by 
which  the  female  character  is  so  pleasingly  adorned.  — 
Tertullian. 

I  know  of  no  better  business  than  millinery  for  a 
woman  who  has  any  talent  for  it  at  all.  Even  if  she 
have  but  little  skill  at  first  more  will  come  to  her  if  she 
tries  to  acquire  it  and  is  in  earnest  about  her  profession, 
—  "  Women  in  the  Business  World." 


45-i  HELPS  FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

DOMESTIC    INDUSTRIES. 
"  When  I  was  at  home  I  was  in  a  better  place."  —  Shakespeare. 

By  domestic  industries  I  mean  those  occupations  for 
profit  which  you  can  follow  in  your  own  home,  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  industry  required  to  keep  the  home 
in  good  order.  And  these  industries  are  many,  and  many 
are  the  women  who  follow  them.  There  is  some  industry 
that  you  can  take  up  at  home,  almost  beyond  a  doubt, 
that  will  give  you  as  much  profit  in  the  long  run  as  you 
could  expect  if  you  cut  loose  from  family  ties  and  set  up 
a  little  house  of  your  own  in  another  place. 

In  every  one  of  these  domestic  industries  some 
business  ability  is  needed  —  not  business  experience, 
necessarily,  but  business  ability.  You  must  have  good 
ideas  about  disposing  of  your  goods  after  they  are 
made,  particularly  when  you  make  them  in  large 
quantities.  You  must  make  a  good  article  to  begin 
with,  and  then  know  how  to  sell  it  at  a  profit.  Let  us 
look  at  the  making  of  jellies  for  a  moment  —  for  that  is 
a  favorite  domestic  industry,  and  often  it  is  made  a 
profitable  one.  If  you  know  how  to  make  a  good  jelly, 
and  should  go  into  this  business  without  first  investigat- 
ing it  thoroughly,  or  "  studying  the  market,"  as  business 
men  say,  you  would  be  very  likely  to  run  against  a  big 
high  wall  of  discouragement.  You  would  go  into  the 
nearest  town,  no  doubt,  and  negotiate,  or  try  to  negotiate, 
with  one  of  the  big  grocers  to  "  handle  "  your  goods,  as 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  455 

he  would  call  it.  Suppose  that  you  were  somewhere 
near  New  York,  and  that  you  went  to  Park  &  Tilford's 
with  your  sample.  They  would  examine  it,  and  if  they 
liked  it  they  would  perhaps  name  a  price  that  they  would 
pay  you  for  as  much  as  they  thought  they  could  sell  of 
it.  And  when  you  heard  the  price  you  would  see  that 
wall  of  discouragement  loom  up,  for  the  price  would  be 
much  less  than  the  cost  of  the  materials,  to  say  nothing 
of  your  labor.  And  when  you  exclaimed  at  the  price 
they  would  show  you  this  jelly  and  that  jelly  and  the 
other  jelly,  all  of  which  they  bought  at  the  price 
named,  or  for  still  less. 

"  But,"  you  tell  them,  "  mine  is  a  home-made  jelly, 
made  of  the  best  materials,  and  much  superior  to  these 
others." 

"  So  it  is,"  perhaps  they  will  admit,  "  but  the  customer 
does  not  know  that,  and  he  will  not  pay  thirty  cents  for 
your  small  tumblerful  when  he  can  buy  this  large  jar  for 
twenty-five." 

It  is  useless  for  you  to  wonder  how  the  large  manu- 
facturer can  make  that  large  jarful  of  jelly  to  sell  for 
twenty-five  cents,  for  you  know  nothing,  let  us  hope,  of  the 
mysteries  of  converting  apple  juice  into  prime  currant 
jelly  by  adding  a  little  coloring  matter  and  some  chemical 
sweetening.  No  use  to  wonder,  for  there  is  the  fact,  and 
you  must  face  it. 

If  you  are  a  bright  girl  as  well  as  an  ambitious  girl 
you  learn  something  by  this  interview  with  the  grocer, 
instead  of  letting  it  discourage  you.  Your  jelly  is  a 
good  article,  you  are  satisfied,  and  you  know  that  there 
are  many  people  who  are  willing  to  pay  at  least  a  fair 
price  for  really  good  jelly,  for  the  factory-made  jelly  is 
wretched  stuff.  If  these  people  knew  the  excellence  of 
your  jelly  they  would  gladly  buy  it  at  a  good  price. 
But  they  do  not  know  it,  and  there  is  no  way  for  you  to 


456  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

convince  them  of  it  without  the  expenditure  of  a  great 
deal  of  money.  So  the  large  market  is  closed  to  you, 
and  you  must  be  content  with  the  smaller  market 
nearer  home,  which  is  a  good  thing  for  you.  That  is 
where  you  belong,  at  least  in  the  beginning.  Your 
neighboring  grocer  is  willing  to  take  a  little,  perhaps  a 
few  dozen  glasses,  on  commission,  and  every  one  of  your 
glasses  is  neatly  labelled  "Jane  Smith's  home-made 
currant  jelly."  Two  or  three  other  grocers,  or  perhaps 
more,  will  do   the  same  thing,  and  there  is  your  start. 

Slowly  and  gradually  their  customers  learn  to  know 
the  Jane  Smith  jellies,  and  if  they  are  really  good 
jellies  the  customers  will  want  more.  A  single  gross  of 
glasses  this  year  may  create  a  demand  for  ten  times  as 
much  next  year,  and  almost  before  you  know  it  you  have 
a  local  reputation  established  as  a  jelly-maker.  Your 
first  step  in  any  domestic  industry  must  be  to  establish 
a  local  rejjutation.  After  that  is  done  you  may  extend 
your  business ;  but  the  local  reputation  must  come  first. 
I  have  named  jelly  simply  for  an  illustration ;  the  same 
is  true  of  all  domestic  products.  You  cannot  compete 
with  the  machine-made  goods  of  the  large  markets,  but 
you  can  convince  your  own  little  public  at  home  that 
your  goods  are  the  best  to  be  had.  And  when  they  come 
to  believe  that  they  will  willingly  pay  for  them. 

Who  would  have  believed  there  was  any  money  to  be 
made  in  canned  tomatoes  with  a  thousand  factories 
flooding  the  market  with  them  and  forever  cutting  their 
prices  ?  It  was  a  woman  in  New  Jersey  who  had  the 
shrewdness  to  see  the  money  that  was  waiting  for  her 
in  that  business.  There  were  shiploads  of  canned  toma- 
toes in  the  market,  enough  to  feed  the  whole  country  on 
stewed  tomatoes  all  winter.  But  then  thousands  of 
people,  she  reasoned,  want  their  tomatoes  fried;  fried 
tomatoes  are  a  standard  article  on  hotel  and  restaurant 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  457 

tables,  and  they  would  be  a  paying  novelty  in  midwinter, 
wien  the  whole  tomatoes  are  gone.  So  she  picked  out 
fine  large  tomatoes,  cut  them  through  the  middle,  and 
canned  them  in  "whole  halves."  That  first  year  she 
could  not  nearly  supply  the  demand  for  them.  The 
next  year  she  made  a  hundred  times  as  many,  but  they 
were  all  gone  before  Christmas.  What  will  happen  in 
the  third  year  I  cannot  say,  for  that  second  winter  was 
last  winter.  Out  of  that  one  good  idea  she  has  made 
hundreds  of  dollars. 

The  articles  that  a  girl  or  woman  may  make  in  the 
kitchen  at  home  are  almost  endless.  Can  you  not  make 
as  good  a  sauce  as  the  Worcestershire  ?  As  good  pickles 
as  Crosse  &  Blackwell,  or  better?  Chutney,  pickled 
onions,  curry  powder,  cakes,  bread,  cordials,  candies  ? 
Catsup?  Pickled  mushrooms?  There  is  some  one 
specialty  simply  in  foods  that  is  waiting  for  a  bright 
girl  to  come  along  and  make  money  out  of ;  and  as  soon 
as  that  is  taken  up  another  specialty  will  be  ready. 
There  is  no  end  to  them.  And  there  are  hundreds  of 
specialties  in  the  sewing-room.  Embroidery,  lace-mak- 
ing, fancy  work. 

The  character  of  the  work  must  be  determined  by 
your  own  circumstances  and  the  wants  of  your  neighbor- 
hood. Do  not  make  ice  cream  in  Quebec  in  January, 
nor  offer  oyster  patties  in  August,  nor  try  to  sell  art- 
embroidery  in  a  blind-asylum.  Find  out  what  is  lacking 
among  your  neighbors,  and  then  make  it  and  sell  it  to 
them.  Make  a  good  article,  whatever  it  is,  so  good  as  to 
make  people  want  more  of  it,  and  then  set  to  work  to 
make  a  local  reputation.  Local  reputation  means  a 
steady  sale  of  a  certain  quantity  of  goods,  and  there- 
fore a  certain  profit  that  you  can  depend  upon,  which  is 
better  than  a  salary.  You  could  deceive  your  customers 
with  an  inferior  article  this  year,  perhaps,  but  you  could 


458  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

not  deceive  them  again  next  year,  because  they  would 
not  buy.  A  domestic  business  must  be  built  up  on-  as 
solid  a  basis,  as  carefully  laid  a  foundation,  as  if  it  were 
a  larger  financial  venture ;  not  simply  for  the  profit  of 
to-day  or  next  month,  but  with  an  eye  to  the  future. 

Below  are  given  the  outlines  of  instruction  in  the 
Department  of  Domestic"  Science  in  Pratt  Institute,  and 
in  some  of  the  classes  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian 
Association  of  New  York.  The  Christian  Association 
classes  are  not  devoted  entirely  to  domestic  industries, 
but  the  whole  instruction  in  them  is  such  as  many  girls 
are  in  need  of  to  become  self-supporting. 

YOUNG   WOMEN'S    CHRISTIAN    ASSOCIATION    OF    THE 
CITY   OF    NEW  YORK. 

7  East  Fifteenth  Street. 
needle-work  classes. 
rules  and  regulations. 

1.  These  classes  are  open  only  to  women  studying  for  self-sup- 
port.    Applicants  must  be  between  the  ages  of  14  and  35. 

2.  Application  for  admission  to  these  classes  must  be  made  in 
person  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Class  Department,  7  East  Fifteenth 
Street.     Satisfactory  references  are  invariably  required. 

3.  The  classes  open  about  Oct.  1,  and  continue  until  June  1. 
Pupils  are  required  to  pledge  themselves  to  punctual  and  regular 
attendance. 

4.  Two  unexcused  absences,  or  habitual  tardiness,  will  neces- 
sitate withdrawal  from  the  class.  Illness  is  the  only  satisfactory 
excuse.  A  pupil  must  not  take  her  place  in  the  class  after  one  ab- 
sence until  her  excuse  has  been  presented  and  accepted. 

5.  No  calls  upon  the  students  are  allowed  at  any  time  except  in 
case  of  absolute  necessity. 

6.  Students  are  expected  to  maintain  good  order  in  the  class- 
rooms, and  not  to  deface,  injure,  or  remove  from  the  building  any 
article  in  use.  The  rules  of  the  building  must  be  strictly  observed. 
Any  violation  of  the  same  subjects  the  offender  to  dismissal. 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  459 

7.  Students  must  provide,  at  their  own  expense,  all  necessary- 
materials,  which  may  be  had  at  cost  prices  from  the  Class  Depart- 
ment. 

8.  The  Committee  reserves  the  right  to  dismiss  any  student 
whom  the  teacher  may  report  as  not  possessed  of  sufficient  talent 
or  perseverance. 

9.  An  examination  will  be  held  at  the  close  of  each  class  term, 
when  certificates  will  be  given  deserving  students. 

Tuition  fee  must  be  paid  before  entering  the  Class. 

No  fee,  or  portion  of  fee,  will  be  returned  to  pupils  after  the 
term  has  commenced. 

Office  hours  of  Class  Department:  9  A.M.  to  5  P.M.,  and  7  to  9 
P.M.     Saturday  afternoons  and  evenings  excepted. 

This  Department  is  closed  from  June  15  to  Sept.  1. 

CLASSES  IN  HAND  AND   MACHINE   SEWING. 

First   Grade. 

Talk  on  promptness,  neatness,  cleanliness,  and  order.  Method 
of  threading  needle,  making  knot,  using  thimble,  and  the  length  of 
cotton  to  be  used  in  the  different  varieties  of  sewing. 

Position  of  body  and  the  best  way  to  sit  as  regards  the  light  in 
aiding  the  sight  for  sewing. 

Talk  on  the  different  threads  of  all  material,  and  the  mode  of 
making.  Basting  and  overhanding ;  turning  down  hem  by  measure, 
and  when  to  use  a  mitred  corner ;  hemming  and  running. 

Talk  on  the  needle,  scissors,  and  thimble.  Backstitching  and 
felling  stiching  and  overcasting,  gathering,  stroking  gathers,  and 
putting  on  bands,  and  which  way  bands  must  be  cut;  making  but- 
tonholes, eyelets,  loops,  and  sewing  on  buttons. 

Putting  in  gussets  ;  herringbone  and  the  different  stitches  ;  flannel 
patch;  patching;  darning  on  gingham  —  four  different  darns; 
darning  on  cashmere  ;  stocking  darn.  Hemstitching  in  hem ;  hem- 
stitching in  tucks  ;  hemstitching  handkerchief  corner. 

Pupils  must  accomplish  the  home  practice  work  required  by  the 
teacher. 

Second   Grade. 

Talks  on  different  materials.  Muslins,  linens,  cambrics,  lawns, 
nainsooks,  and  other  fabrics. 

Talks  on  color.  Taking  measures  and  illustrating  curves  and 
lines  upon  the  board.     Machine  stitching. 


460  HELPS   FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Draughting  drawers,  cutting  and  making  drawers ;  draughting, 
cutting,  and  making  shirt ;  house  linen. 

Examination. 

Pupils  must  accomplish  the  home  practice  work  required  by  the 
teacher. 

Third  Grade. 

Fine  machine  work  and  the  use  of  all  attachments. 

Dress  without  lining  and  night  dress.      Talks  on  lace  and  em- 
broidery and  their  manufacture. 

Examination. 

Pupils  must  accomplish  the  home  practice  work  required  by  the 
teacher. 

Fourth  Grade. 

Fine  hand  sewing.     Baby's  dress,  guimpe. 

Each  scholar  doing  all  her  draughting,  modelling,  and  cutting. 
These  garments  have  machine  work  as  well  as  hand  work. 

Examination. 

Pupils  must  accomplish  the  home  practice  work  required  by  the 
teacher. 

FIRST    GRADE. 
CUTTING  AND   FITTING   CLASS.  —  ROYAL   SYSTEM   TAUGHT. 

Course  of  Study. 

Lessons  in  taking  measure. 

11  "  draughting  tight-fitting  basque. 

"■  "  "  a  dress  sleeve. 

"  "  "  basque  with  two  under  arms. 

**  u  "  an  evening  waist  with  low  neck. 

"  m  M  princess  gown. 

l*  "  **  a  shirt  waist. 

"  "  "  an  Eton  coat. 

M  "  "  a  coat  with  double  breast. 

"  **  M  coat  collars. 

"  "  '*  a  loose  front  coat. 

u  u  tl  a  box  coat  and  vest. 

"  »  u  an  ulster. 

»  "  «*  a  child's  basque  from  12  to  16  years. 

»*  <l  "  a  child's  waist  from  8  to  12  years. 

M  "  "  a  child's  waist  from  4  to  8  years. 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES. 


461 


Choice  in  materials. 

Cutting  out  material,  and  basting  waist. 

Joining  different  parts  together. 

Trying  on  waists. 

Matching  plaids,  stripes,  and  all  kinds  of  figured  materials. 

This  course  will  include  15  lessons. 


SECOND    GRADE. 

Course  of  Study. 

1st  Lesson.  —  Take  on  form. 

2d 

4             Combination  of  color. 

3d 

1             Stitching  and  pressing  waist. 

4th       > 

1             Finishing  seams  and  boneing  waist. 

5th       ■ 

1             Putting  on  collar  and  revers  and  trimmings 

6th       l 

1             Making  sleeves. 

7th       l 

1             Putting  sleeve  in  waist. 

8th       l 

f             Draping  all  kinds  of  fancy  waists. 

9th       l 

'             Making  low  neck  waist. 

10th       l 

1             Making  shirt  waist. 

11th 

1             Cutting  out  princess  gown. 

12th       l 

1             Draping  princess  gown. 

13th       • 

'             Making  artistic  bows. 

14th       ■ 

1             Making  trimmings  of  all  kinds. 

THIRD    GRADE.  SKIRT    CLASS. 

Course  of  Study. 

1st  Lesson.  —  How  to  take  measures. 

2d  "  Draughting  foundation  skirt. 

3d  "  Draughting  circular  skirts. 

4th  "  Draughting  all  kinds  of  gored  skirts. 

5th  M  Draughting  overskirts. 

6th  "  Cutting  out  material. 

7th  "  Making  a  solid  lined  skirt. 

8th  "  Putting  in  pockets. 

9th  "  Cutting  out  lining. 

10th  u  Putting  in  lining. 

11th  "  Finishing  coat. 

12th  "  Cutting  out  cape. 

13th  "  How  to  make  lady's  vest. 

14th  "  Making  Medici  collar. 


462  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Examination. 

Pupils  must  accomplish  the  home  practice  work  required  by  the 
teacher. 

CLASS    IN    DRESSMAKING,  WITHOUT    A    SYSTEM. 

1st  Lesson.  —  Cutting  and  basting  waist  lining. 

2d  u.  Fitting  and"  correcting  waist  lining. 

3d  "  Binding  and  boneing  waist. 

4th  u  Draping  waists. 

5th  u  Cutting  and  making  sleeves. 

6th  "  Making  and  adjusting  collar  bands  and  basting  in 
sleeves. 

7th  "  Second  fitting  of  waists. 

8th  "  Hints  on  trimmings  for  same. 

9th  "  Renovating  waists. 

10th  '*  Renovating  skirts. 

11th  "  Cutting  three-piece  skirt. 

12th  "  Lining  and  putting  skirt  together. 

13th  "  Mounting  and  fitting  skirt. 

14th  u  Regulating  length  of  skirt  and  facing. 

15th  "  Finishing  skirt  —  with  hints  on  trimming  same. 

CLASSES    IN    MILLINERY. 

First  Course. 

Talk  on  color  and  material,  wiring,  folds,  bows,  plain  and 
puffed  binding,  plain  and  shirred  facings,  making  of  buckram 
frames,  hat  of  good  material. 

Second  Course. 

Covering  of  plain  hat,  plain  bonnets,  fancy  bonnets,  toque  or 
turban,  hat  or  bonnet  of  good  material. 

Third  Course. 

Making  of  wire  frame,  cr£pe  bonnet,  black  silk  hat  or  bonnet, 
shirred  hat  on  wires.     Examination. 

There  is  also  a  course  given  in  feather  curling. 

Pupils  must  accomplish  the  home  practice  work  required  by  the 
teacher. 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  463 

Pupils  in  all  these  branches  are  required  to  attend  any  lectures 
that  may  be  given  on  subjects  relating  to  their  work. 

The  certificate  of  the  Association  will  be  awarded  to  those  pupils 
who  complete  satisfactorily  the  full  course  of  instruction  and  pass 
all  test  examinations. 

TUITION    FOR    COURSES    IN    HAND    AND    MACHINE    SEWING. 

First  course,      26  lessons  of  2  hours  each,  2  per  week  .     $2  00 

Second  course,  16      "  "       "         "        "  «  .3  00 

Third  course,     14      "  "       "         "'       "  "  .3  00 

Fourth  course,  14      "  M       "         "        "  "  .       4  00 

DRESSMAKING    CLASSES. 

First  Course. 
Cut  and  fit,  day  classes,  15  lessons  of  2  hours  each,  3  per 

week,  including  system    .         .         .         .         .         .         .     12  00 

Cut  and  fit,  evening  classes,  15  lessons    of  2   hours   each, 

2  per  week,  including  system  .         .         .         .         .     12  00 

Second  Course. 
Day  classes,  14  lessons  of  2  hours  each,  3  per  week    .  8  00 

Evening  classes,  14  lessons  of  2  hours  each,  1  per  week      .       8  00 

Third  Course. 
Day  classes,  14  lessons  of  2  hours  each,  2  per  week    .  7  00 

Evening  classes,  14  lessons  of  2  hours  each,  2  per  week      .       7  00 

CLASSES   IN   DRESSMAKING,   -WITHOUT   A   SYSTEM. 

Evening  classes,  15  lessons  of  2  hours  each,  2  per  week      .       5  00 

MILLINERY. 

First  course,  24  lessons,  4  day  lessons,  2  evening  lessons 

per  week 5  00 

Second  course,  24  lessons,  4  day  lessons,  2  evening  lessons 

per  week 6  00 

Third  course,  20  lessons,  4  day  lessons,  2  evening  lessons 

per  week 7  00 

Course  in  feather  curling,  10  lessons,  2  day  lessons,  2  even- 
ing lessons  per  week 2  50 


464  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

ART    INDUSTRIAL    AND    BUSINESS    CLASSES. 
BULKS  AND   REGULATIONS. 

1.  These  classes  are  open  only  to  women  studying  for  self- 
support.  Applicants  must  be  between  the  ages  of  18  and  35,  and 
not  connected  with  other  schools.     Pupils  will  be  admitted  to  the 

Writing,   Business  Training,  Drawing,  Physical  Culture,    Choir 
Music,  and  Cooking  Classes  at  the  age  of  15. 

2.  Application  for  admission  to  these  classes  must  be  made  in 
person  to  the  Clerk  of  the  Class  Department,  7  East  Fifteenth 
Street.     Satisfactory  references  are  invariably  required. 

3.  The  classes  open  about  October  1st,  and  continue  until 
June  1st.  Pupils  are  required  to  pledge  themselves  to  punctual 
and  regular  attendance.  A  deposit  of  $1.00  must  be  made  before 
entering  any/ree  class,  which  deposit  will  be  returned  at  the  close 
of  the  term,  unless  forfeited  by  absence  or  withdrawal  from  the 
class. 

Writing  and  Business  Correspondence  every  Tuesday  and  Friday 
evening,  at  7.30.     Pupils  admitted  as  vacancies  occur. 

Commercial  Arithmetic  (preparatory  to  book-keeping)  every 
Wednesday  evening  at  7.30.     Pupils  admitted  as  vacancies  occur. 

Book-keeping  every  Monday  and  Thursday  evening,  at  7.30. 
Pupils  not  admitted  after  these  classes  have  been  formed. 

Business  Training  Class  every  Monday  and  Thursday  evening, 
at  7.30.     Pupils  admitted  as  vacancies  occur. 

Stenography  Classes  every  morning,  except  Saturday,  from  9  to 
1.     Pupils  not  admitted  after  these  classes  have  been  formed. 

Typewriting  classes  every  day,  except  Saturday,  from  9  A.M. 
to  1  P.M.,  and  from  7  to  9  P.M. 

Dictation  for  stenographers  every  evening,  from  8  to  9.  Pupils 
admitted  to  the  evening  classes  as  vacancies  occur. 

General  Literature  Class  every  Wednesday  evening,  from  7.45 
to  9. 

Mechanical  and  Free-hand  Drawing,  Cast  and  Life  Drawing, 
Photo-Negative  Retouching,  Photo-Color,  Pen  and  Ink  Work, 
Crayon  and  Water-Color,  every  day,  except  Saturday,  from  9 
A.M.  to  1  P.M.  Sketch  Class,  3  lessons  per  week.  Pupils  ad- 
mitted as  vacancies  occur. 

Drawing  Class  and  Class  in  Water-Color  every  Monday  and 
Wednesday  afternoon  from  2.30  to  4.30. 

Instrumental  Drawing,  Decorative  Design,  Color,  Clay  Modelling 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  465 

and  Wood  Carving,  every  day,  except  Saturday,  from  9  A.M.  to 
1  P.M.  J.  Liberty  Tadd  method.  Pupils  admitted  as  vacancies 
occur. 

Class  in  Design,  Clay  Modelling,  etc.,  every  Tuesday  and  Thurs- 
day evening,  from  7  to  9. 

Physical  Culture  Classes  every  Monday  and  Thursday  evening, 
from  7.30  to  8.15  or  8.15  to  9. 

Class  in  Choir  Music.  Damrosch  Popular  Method  of  Sight- 
Singing.  Lesson  every  Friday  evening,  from  7.30  to  9.30,  and 
Service  every  Sunday  afternoon,  from  3  to  4.30. 

Cooking  Classes  every  evening  except  Saturday,  from  7.30  to 
9.30,  and  in  the  afternoon  from  4  to  6. 

Special  Classes  in  Cooking  for  Invalids,  every  Friday,  4  to  6 
P.M. 

Office  hours  of  Class  Department,  9  A.M.  to  5  P.M.  and  7  to  9 
P.M.     Saturday  afternoons  and  evenings  excepted. 

The  Department  is  closed  from  June  15  to  September  1. 

TUITION  FEES. 

Writing    Class.  —  Spencerian    and    vertical    penmanship, 

term  of  4  months,  2  lessons  per  week         .         .         .    $2  00 

Commercial  Arithmetic.  —  Term  of  8  months,  1  lesson  per 

week 3  00 

Book-keeping.  —  Single  and  double  entry,  term  of  8  months, 

2  lessons  per  week 5  00 

Business    Training.  —  Preparatory   to   book-keeping   and 

stenography,  term  of  8  months,  2  lessons  per  week      .       3  00 

Stenography.  —  Term  of  8  months,  5  lessons  per  week       .     15  00 

Typewriting.  —  Day  classes,  term  of  8  months         .  8  00 

Typewriting.  —  Evening  classes,  term  of  4  months,  5  les- 
sons per  week        .         .         .         .         .         .         .  5  00 

Dictation  for  Stenographers.  — Five  evenings  per  week, 

fee  per  month 1  00 

Mechanical  and  Free-hand  Drawing.  —  Photo-negative 
retouching,  photo-color,  etc.,  term  of  8  months,  5 
lessons  per  week  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .     15  00 

Drawing  and   Water-Color.  —  Afternoon  class,  term  of  7 

months,  2  lessons  per  week 9  00 

Instrumental  Drawing.  —  Design,   color,  clay  modelling, 

wood  carving,  term  of  8  months,  5  lessons  per  week    .     15  00 


466  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Design,    Clay  Modelling ,   $c.  —  Evening  class,  terra  of  7 

months,  2  lessons  per  week $9  00 

Cooking  —  Afternoon  Classes. 

First  Course,  10  lessons,  1  lesson  per  week         .  3  00 

Second  Course,  10  lessons,  1  lesson  per  week       .         .       4  00 
Third  Course,  10  lessons,  1  lesson  per  week         .  5  00 

Materials  included. 
Cooking  —  Evening  Classes. 

First  Course,  10  lessons,  1  per  week  .         .         .  3  00 

Second  Course,  10  lessons,  1  per  week         .         .  3  50 

Third  Course,  10  lessons,  1  per  week  .         .         .  4  00 

Materials  included. 
Certificates  given  to  pupils  taking  complete  course  of 
30  lessons. 
General  Literature. — No  tuition  fee.     Deposit  of  $1.00. 
Physical    Culture.  —  No    tuition    fee.     Gymnasium    suit,    $3.00. 

Deposit  of   $1.00. 
Choir  Music.  —  No  tuition  fee.     Deposit  of  $1.00. 
Tuition  fee  must  be  paid  before  entering  the  Class. 
No  fee,  or  portion  of  fee,  will  be  returned  to  pupils  after  the 
term  has  commenced. 

Annual  Membership  without  extra  charge  if  applied  for  upon 
payment  of  class  fee. 

CLASSES    IN    COOKING    FOR    THE    SICK. 
Specially  arranged  for  the  use  of  Trained  Nurses  and  Attendants. 

FIRST  LESSON. 

Milk.     Sterilization.     Pasteurization.     Kumiss.     Junket.     Leb- 
ben.     Lemon  Jelly. 

SECOND  LE8SON. 

Beef.      Broiled  Beef  Essence.      Bottled  Beef   Essence.     Beef 
Balls.     Scraped  Beef  Sandwiches.     Soft  Custard. 

THIRD  LESSON. 

Rice  Water.     Oatmeal  Water.     Irish  Moss  Lemonade.     Arrow- 
root Gruel.     Blanc  Mange.     Chicken  Broth. 

FOURTH  LESSON. 

Plain  Omelet.     Egg  in  a  Nest.     Egg  Nog.     Soft  Cooked  Egg. 
Poached  Egg.     Jellied  Oranges. 

FIFTH  LESSON. 

Clam  Soup.     Creamed  Oysters.     Panned    Oysters.     Toast  and 
Tea.     Cup  Custard. 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  467 

SIXTH  LESSON. 

Broiled  Chops.  Milk  and  Cream  Toast.  Caramel  Custard. 
Calves'  Foot  Jelly. 

SEVENTH  LESSON. 

Mutton  Broth.  Boiled  Rice.  Broiled  Chicken.  Irish  Moss. 
Blanc  Mange. 

EIGHTH   LESSON. 

Clam  Broth.  Creamed  Sweetbreads.  Foamy  Omelet.  Tapioca 
Cream.     Cocoa. 

Tuition  Fee.  —  Term  of  eight  lessons,  afternoon  or  even- 
ing class $3  00 

Materials  included. 
Tuition  must  be  paid  on  entering  the  Class. 

CLASS    IN    EMBROIDERY. 
PLAIN   AND  ARTISTIC. 

First  Course. 
Variety  of  stitches  for  decoration  with  the  needle. 
Initialling,  and  other  embroidery  on  linen  and  flannel. 

Second  Course. 
Embroidery  in  silks,  conventional  designs  and  shading  of  flowers, 
with  suggestions  for  coloring,  etc. 

SECOND  TEAR  COURSE.  —  ADVANCED   CLASS. 

Application  of  the  first  and  second  courses  of  instruction  to 
articles  for  home  and  ceremonial  use. 

Pupils  must  accomplish  the  home  practice  work  required  by  the 
teacher. 

TUITION  FOR  COURSES   IN   EMBUOIDERT. 

First  course,  30  lessons  of  2  hours  each,  2  per  week        $9  00 

Second  course,       30       «.«  "       "         "         "         M      .      10  00 

Advanced  course,  30       "  "       "         "         "         "      .      10  00 

Materials  not  included. 
Tuesday  and  Friday,  from  9  to  11  A.M. ;  Monday  and  Thursday, 
from  2.30  to  4.30  P.M. ;  Tuesday  and  Friday,  from  7  to  9  P.M. 

DEPARTMENT    OF   INSTRUCTION   TO    ATTENDANTS    ON   THE    SICK. 

The  purpose  of  this  department  is  the  training  of  women  to  be 
attendants  in  the  care  of  convalescents,  feeble  or  elderly  persons, 
and  sub-acute  and  chronic  cases. 


468  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

There  are  many  intelligent  women  who  are  unable  to  give  to 
study  the  length  of  time  required  to  become  a  trained  nurse ;  and 
there  are  many  families  who,  for  economic  reasons,  are  obliged  to 
do  without  trained  assistance  in  times  of  illness.  It  is  to  enable 
such  homes  to  obtain  better  aid  at  a  moderate  compensation,  and 
to  offer  an  honorable  means  of  livelihood  to  women,  that  this  work 
is  established. 

Applicants  for  admission  to  the  course  for  attendants  must  un- 
derstand that  the  position  of  an  attendant  is  not  that  of  a  '*  trained 
nurse,"  and  they  cannot  hope  to  become  trained  nurses  by  taking 
this  course  alone.  The  course  of  study  for  a  u  trained  nurse" 
lasts  at  least  two  years,  while  this  course  lasts  but  eight  weeks.  An 
attendant  cannot  charge  or  expect  to  receive  as  much  asa"  trained 
nurse."  On  the  other  hand,  the  attendant  cannot  be  expected  to 
assume  the  responsibilities  of  a  u  trained  nurse." 

REGULATIONS   FOR  THE  TRAINING  OP  WOMEN   AS  ATTENDANTS. 

These  classes  are  open  only  to  women  studying  for  self-support. 

The  course  of  instruction  embraces  a  period  of  eight  weeks, 
devoted  to  forty  lectures,  class  work,  and  practical  nursing  among 
the  poor,  given  by  a  trained  nurse. 

There  is  an  examination  at  the  end  of  the  course. 

A  certificate  of  the  Association  is  given  to  those  who  pass  such 
an  examination. 

No  pupil  will  be  admitted  under  twenty  or  over  forty  years  of 
age,  except  by  special  permission  of  the  committee. 

The  work  of  an  attendant  on  the  sick  requires  intelligence,  good 
temper,  cleanly  and  orderly  habits,  entire  trustworthiness,  and  a 
cheerful  and  willing  disposition.  No  one  should  enter  on  this  work 
except  with  a  strong  sense  of  duty  and  a  readiness  to  conform  to 
strict  rules  of  discipline  and  obedience  to  the  physician's  order. 

Pupils  must  present  references  of  high  character  and  general 
intelligence. 

The  pupils  who  wish  to  obtain  diplomas  must  be  prepared  to  give 
their  whole  time  to  the  work  of  the  course,  which  includes  nursing 
in  the  homes  of  the  poor,  under  the  supervision  of  the  instructor 
and  the  direction  of  the  physician  in  charge.  The  character  of  this 
work  is  a  very  important  test  of  the  ability  of  the  pupil. 

No  attendant  is  allowed  to  charge  more  than  $7  a  week  (and  liv- 
ing) during  the  first  year  of  service. 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  469 

A  pupil  will  be  dropped  from  the  class  if  she  is  absent  from 
lessons,  or  fails  to  attend  properly  the  patient  under  her  charge 
without  sufficient  excuse ;  if  she  does  not  show  a  willingness  to 
learn  and  to  obey  the  instructions  given  her ;  if  she  does  not  follow 
the  orders  of  the  attending  physician  when  caring  for  a  patient;  or 
If  she  does  not  give  satisfactory  evidence  of  ability  and  character. 

Diplomas  of  this  Association  permit  the  holders  to  register  in  the 
Employment  Bureau  of  the  Association.  Further  particulars  may 
be  learned  by  application  in  person  to  Class  Department,  7  East 
15th  Street,  N.Y. 

Course  of  Study. 
1st.     Personal  hygiene,  sick-room  hygiene,  methods  of  ventilating, 

sweeping,  dusting,  care  of  utensils,  temperature  of  room. 
2d.      Bed-making  for   bed    patients,    for    convalescents,    lifting, 

moving,  arrangement  of  pillows. 
3d.       Care  of  patients,  frequency  of  bathing,  care  of  teeth,  hair, 

nails,  prevention  of  bed  sores. 
4th.     Baths  —  foot  bath  in  and  out  of  bed. 

5th.     Enemata  —  kinds,  methods    of   preparation    care    of    appli- 
ances, douches. 
6th.     External  applications  —  hot-water  bags,  hot  bottles,  flannels, 

salt    bags,    poultices,    mustard    plasters,    stupes,    iodine, 

liniment,  etc. 
7th.     Diet  —  preparation  of  and  serving  food. 
8th.     Temperature  of  body,  reading  aloud,  writing  notes,  packing 

a  trunk,  emergencies. 

Tuition  fee,  term  of  eight  weeks  .....  $10  00 

5  lessons  per  week.    9.30  to  1 1  A.M.,  or  11.30  A.M.  to  1  P.M. 

Dress,  supplied  by  the  department 3  00 


PRATT   INSTITUTE. 

DEPARTMENT    OF    DOMESTIC    SCIENCE. 

The  purpose  of  the  Domestic  Science  Department  is  to  afford 
training  in  those  subjects  which  affect  the  life  in  the  home.  It 
aims  to  learn  and  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  women  who  are  interested 
in  meeting  intelligently  and  wisely  the  varied  demands  of  every- 
day life.     The  courses  of  study  provided  for  women  who  wish  to 


470 


HELPS  FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 


Normal  Course 


prepare  themselves  to  be  instructors  in  subjects  pertaining  to  the 
supervision  and  care  of  the  home,  and  for  those  who  are  engaged 
in  such  work,  are  as  follows  : 


Natural  sciences :  chemistry,  physics, 
and  biology  (bacteriology,  botany, 
zoology,  physiology). 

Applied  sciences :  emergencies,  home 
nursing  and  hygiene,  public  hygiene, 
and  household  economics. 

Psychology  and  the  following  allied  sub- 
jects :  History  of  Education,  Froebel's 
"Mother-play,"  normal  methods,  and 
practice  teaching. 

Cookery  :  dietetics,  marketing,  and  serv- 
ing. 

Collateral  lines  of  work :  sewing,  draw- 
ing, manual  training,  laundry-work, 
and  physical  training. 

Natural  sciences :  chemistry,  physics, 
and  biology  (bacteriology,  botany, 
zoology,  physiology). 

Applied  sciences ;  emergencies,  home 
nursing  and  hygiene,  public  hygiene, 
and  household  economics. 

Cookery  :  dietetics,  marketing,  and  serv- 
ing. 

Collateral  lines  of  work  :  sewing,  laundry- 
work. 


General  Course 


Bacteriology.     Emergencies,  home  nurs- 
ing and  hygiene.     Public  hygiene. 
Special  Courses      .     ^  Chemistry.     Dietetics. 

Cookery :    Marketing.    Serving.   House- 
hold economics.     Laundry-work. 


general  information. 

Equipment.  —  The  Domestic  Science  Department  has  good 
modern  laboratories  and  kitchens,  a  collection  of  food  products, 
and  a  departmental  library.     Such  subjects  as  manual  training  and 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  471 

sewing,  for  which  it  is  not  itself  equipped,  are  given  under  the 
auspices  of  other  departments  of  the  Institute. 

Entrance  Requirements.  —  For  admission  to  the  Normal  course 
all  applicants  must  be  at  least  eighteen  years  of  age  and  must  have 
completed  satisfactorily  a  high-school  course  of  four  years  or  have 
stu died  the  sibjects  which  are  equivalent  to  such  a  course.  They 
must  pass  the  general  Institute  examinations,  and  must  also  give 
evidence  of  having  formed  good  mental  habits  and  of  being  able  to 
use  easily  their  knowledge  of  arithmetic,  especially  percentage 
and  the  metric  system,  algebra,  plane  geometry,  physiology,  ele- 
mentary physics,  and  English.  After  having  done  so  the  applicants 
will  be  accepted  on  probation,  the  probation  to  continue  only  until 
they  have  shown  the  ability  and  willingness  to  think  and  a  desire 
to  do  all  that  is  possible  to  make  of  themselves  cultured  Avomen  of 
character,  and  women  who  are  well  prepared  as  instructors  in 
domestic  science.  Any  student  who  is  unable  or  unwilling  to 
cooperate  thus  may  be  asked  to  withdraw  at  the  end  of  any  term. 

The  General  course  presupposes  a  good  general  education,  in- 
cluding a  thorough  knowledge  of  percentage,  of  the  metric  system, 
and  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  physiology.  Women  who 
wish  to  use  domestic  science  professionally  are  not  admitted  to  this 
course. 

For  the  Special  courses  the  applicants  are  asked  to  show,  by  any 
means  at  their  command,  that  they  are  prepared  to  do  thoughtful 
and  earnest  work  in  the  classes  which  they  wish  to  enter. 

These  courses  begin  in  September,  and  students  will  not  be 
allowed  to  enter  at  any  other  time  unless  there  are  a  sufficient 
number  of  applicants  to  justify  the  formation  of  a  new  class. 

Diplomas.  —  Diplomas  are  awarded  upon  the  satisfactory  com- 
Dletion  of  the  Normal  course. 

NORMAL    COURSE. 

The  object  of  this  course  is  primarily  "to  promote  mind  devel- 
opment," and  to  lay  a  thorough  foundation  for  future  work;  sec- 
ondarily, to  impart  knowledge  concerning  the  subject  of  Domestic 
Science.  It  aims  to  meet  the  increasing  demand  for  instructors 
thoroughly  trained  in  domestic  science  and  capable  of  using  their 
special  subjects  to  exercise  the  minds  of  their  students  and  of  cor- 
relating their  work  with  that  of  the  other  departments  of  the  school 
with  which  thev  are  connected. 


472 


HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


First  Year 


For  the  mature  student  who  has  had  a  broad  general  training, 
and  who  is  able  to  meet  the  entrance  requirements,  the  course  de- 
mands two  full  years  of  thorough  work  with  the  option  of  a  third, 
to  consist  of  broad  elective  work  in  domestic  science  and  collateral 
subjects". 

By  the  immature  student,  even  though  able  to  meet  the  entrance 
requirements,  the  needed  training  cannot  be  obtained  in  less  than 
three  years.  The  subjects  given  to  such  a  student  are  those  of  the 
regular  course,  and  such  others  as  she  seems  to  need. 

COURSE    Or   STUDY. 

Bacteriology  and  botany. 

Emergencies,  home  nursing,  and  hygiene. 

Chemistry  (general  and  qualitative  analy- 
sis) ;  dietetics. 

Physics  (heat). 

Drawing. 

Psychology. 

English  (daily  themes). 

Practical  work  (cookery,  sewing,  or  man- 
ual training). 

Botany,  zoology,  and  physiology. 

Chemistry  (quantitative  analysis  and  or- 
ganic) ;  dietetics. 

History  of  education.  Froebel's  "  Moth- 
er-play." 

Normal  methods.  Practice  teaching. 
Planning  of  courses  of  study  for  stu- 
dents of  different  ages  and  conditions. 

Thesis. 

English  (daily  themes) . 

Lectures  on  Literature  and  Art. 

German  (optional). 

Construction,  with  some  artistic  and  san- 
itary considerations. 

Practical  work  (cookery,  laundry-work, 
household  economics,  sewing,  or  man- 
ual training). 

The  lines  of  elective  work  suggested  for  the  third  year  are  as 
follows ; 


Second  Year 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  473 

The  continuation  of  any  subject  pursued  in  the  earlier  part  of 
the  course ;  manual  training,  if  not  already  taken ;  the  evening 
class  for  nurses  and  teachers  in  kindergarten  methods  arid  the  use 
of  kindergarten  materials,  and  the  <l  Education  of  Man;"  drawing, 
composition,  and  design;  sewing,  dressmaking,  and  millinery; 
Latin,  French,  and  German  in   the  high-school  classes. 

The  special  subjects  specified  are  given  under  the  auspices  of  the 
departments  in  the  Institute  which  deal  with  them  primarily.  In 
being  given  thus,  apart  from  allied  subjects,  they  afford  general  and 
not  normal  training,  and  are  to  be  taken  for  their  value  to  the  indi- 
vidual and  not  to  use  professionally. 

Advanced  students  are  not  received  except  with  the  understand- 
ing that  they  are  to  remain  until  they  have  completed  satisfactorily 
the  entire  course,  and  that  they  are  not  to  use  professionally  the 
knowledge  they  acquire  until  they  have  been  graduated.  This  con- 
dition is  imposed  because  a  partial  course  does  not  prepare  a  student 
to  do  intelligent  and  effective  work,  especially  as  the  regular  work 
cannot  be  disturbed,  nor  can  irregular  classes  be  formed  to  enable 
such  students  to  shorten  the  course. 

Any  student  who  wishes  to  have  advanced  work  which  has  been 
done  elsewhere  accepted  must  pass  examinations  on  both  the  theo- 
retical and  practical  phases  of  each  subject,  and  must  present  the 
notebooks  recording  the  mental  operations  which  accompanied  the 
past  laboratory  work. 

GENERAL    COURSE. 

This  course  offers  training  in  the  subjects  indicated  above,  and 
aims  to  show  how  they  can  be  used  as  a  means  of  developing 
habits  of  careful  observation  and  thought  in  the  daily  work  of 
the  home. 

The  work  in  these  subjects  is  adapted  to  the  needs  of  the  stu- 
dents, so  as  to  enable  young  women  to  meet  intelligently  the  grow- 
ing demands  of  home  and  society.  To  students  whose  previous 
training  has  been  broad  and  thorough  an  opportunity  will  be  given 
for  original  investigation  of  any  question  which  is  of  special  in- 
terest to  them. 

SPECIAL     COURSE8. 

The  special  courses  are  for  women  who  can  devote  but  a  few 
hours  a  week  to  such  work.  The  subjects  mentioned  above  may 
be  taken  separately  or  in  the  following  groups  : 


474  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Bacteriology. 

Emergencies,  home  nursing,  and  hygiene. 
GROUP  I.  I  Dietetics. 

one  year.  /    Plain  cookery. 

Six  hours  a  week.         )   Invalid  cookery. 

Household  economics. 

Laundry-work. 

GROUP  II.  (  Bacteriol°gy- 

one  year.  )  Dietetics. 

Four  hours  a  week.    )  Plain  cookery- 
(    Invalid  cookery. 


GROUP  III. 

ONE  YEAR. 

One  hour  a  week. 


Construction  with  some  artistic  and  sani- 
tary considerations. 
Household  economics. 
Dietetics. 


Bacteriology.  —  A  course  of  twelve  lectures,  accompanied  by 
laboratory  work,  will  be  given  in  each  term  if  there  are  eight 
applicants. 

Emergencies,  Home  Nursing,  and  Hygiene.  —  A  course  of  lect- 
ures, supplemented  by  the  Nurses'  course  in  cookery,  is  offered  in 
the  term  beginning  in  September,  and  again  in  the  one  opening  in 
January,  to  classes  of  eight  or  more. 

The  work  of  bandaging,  producing  artificial  respiration,  applica- 
tion of  splints,  lifting  helpless  patients,  and  preparing  and  apply- 
ing poultices  is  done  by  the  pupil  under  the  personal  supervision  of 
the  instructor,  until  a  reasonable  degree  of  proficiency  is  attained. 

Public  Hygiene. — In  the  spring  term  a  course  of  twelve  lect- 
ures on  Public  Hygiene  is  given.     The  principal  subjects  are : 

The  care  of  streets,  sewers,  and  water-supply. 

Precaution  against  the  spread  of  contagious  diseases. 

Quarantine  disinfection. 

The  laws,  and  the  reasons  for  them,  concerning  the  inspection 
of  milk,  butter,  meat,  and  other  foods. 

School  hygiene. 

Dietetics.  —  A  course  of  ten  lessons  in  practical  dietaries  for 
families  will  be  given  to  housekeepers  who  wish  an  intelligent  idea 
of  the  subject  and  who  have  not  the  time  to  study  chemistry  or  to 
make  investigations  for  themselves. 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  475 

The  following  is  an  outline  of  the  basis  of  the  course  : 
Composition  of  the  body :  its  waste  and  repair ;  need  of  food ; 
kinds  and  proportions  required;  composition  of  various  food 
materials  ;  use  of  each  in  the  body  ;  digestibility  of  each ;  desirable 
combinations  ;  best  methods  of  cooking  in  order  to  secure  greatest 
nutritive  value  at  least  cost ;  modes  of  meeting  the  needs  of  the  in- 
dividual ;  calculation  of  dietaries ;  comparison  of  the  dietaries  for 
people  engaged  in  different  occupations,  and  of  those  for  different 
races ;  and,  so  far  as  the  present  state  of  the  science  will  permit, 
the  solution  of  dietetic  problems  arising  in  the  home. 

This  course  affords  an  opportunity  for  optional  laboratory  work 
in  the  composition  of  food.  The  constituents  of  twelve  represent- 
ative foods  are  studied  in  detail. 

COOKERY. 
DAT  AND  EVENING  CLASSED. 

Technical  Classes.  —  These  classes  are  designed  for  mothers, 
housekeepers,  and  women  engaged  in  domestic  service.  In  tliem 
instruction  is  given  in  the  making  and  care  of  fire,  dish-washing, 
care  of  kitchen,  and  the  following  practical  work  in  cookery : 

FIRST  COURSE.  —  ONE  TERM    (3  MONTHS),  TWICE  A  WEEK. 

Composition  of  foods.  Food  Values.  Marketing. 

Preparation  of  Foods,   Including 
Eggs,  Warmed-over  dishes,     Pastry, 

Cereals,  Fish,  Cake, 

Vegetables,  Batters,  Puddings, 

Meats,  Breads,  Salads. 

SECOND   COURSE.  —  ONE   TERM    (3   MONTHS),   TWICE    A   WEEK. 

Composition  of  foods,  Food  values. 

Preparation  of  Foods,  Including 

Soups,  Entrees,  Puff-paste, 

Souffles,  Desserts,  Canning  and  preserving, 

Croquettes,  Frozen  creams,  Candies. 

Cooks'  Course.  —  This  is  a  condensation  of  the  first  and  second 
courses,  embracing  their  essential  principles,  with  instruction  in 


476  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS  GIBLS. 

table-laying  and  serving.  It  is  offered  on  "Wednesday  evenings  to 
cooks  who  cannot  give  the  time  required  by  the  separate  courses. 

Nurses'  Class.  —  In  invalid  cookery  special  attention  is  paid  to 
the  chief  problems  regarding  food  in  illness  and  acute  disease, 
that  is,  maintenance  of  the  resisting  power  of  the  body,  and  small 
expenditure  of  force  in  the  assimilation  of  nourishment. 

To  this  end  the  function,  characteristics,  and  digestibility  of 
foods  are  studied ;  the  effects  of  proper  and  improper  methods  of 
cooking;  and  the  use  of  food  in  disease. 

Saturday  Morning  Schoolgirls'  Class.  —  The  Schoolgirls'  class, 
meeting  only  on  Saturday  mornings,  is  designed  for  children  en- 
gaged in  school  during  the  week.  The  course  is  a  graded  one. 
The  work  of  the  three  terms  is  as  follows  : 

Practical  cookery ;  proportions  in  flour  mixtures ;  the  effect  of 
heat  upon  food.  Composition  of  foods ;  adaptation  of  food  to 
need  of  body.  Planning  and  cooking  of  a  simple  meal,  according 
to  approved  dietetic  standards. 

Lectures  on  Marketing.  — Lectures  on  marketing  and  food  manu- 
facture are  given  during  the  year.  Opportunity  is  afforded  for  the 
members  of  the  class  to  visit  markets  and  factories  in  New  York 
and  Brooklyn  during  the  fall  and  spring  terms. 

Private  Lessons.  —  Private  lessons  are  given  if  desired.  To  all 
pupils  except  those  taking  private  lessons  materials  are  furnished 
free  of  charge. 

COURSE    FOR   WAITRESSES. 
DAT  AND  EVENING  CLASSES. 

This  course  is  open  to  any  one  who  wishes  to  take  it,  and  con- 
sists of  twelve  lessons,  given  to  classes  of  six  or  more.  The  in- 
struction includes  the  following  subjects  : 

Cookery.  —  Breakfast,  luncheon,  and  tea  dishes  ;  the  preparation 
of  tea,  coffee,  and  chocolate  ;  the  serving  of  fresh  fruits,  salads,  and 
desserts. 

The  packing  of  lunch-baskets  for  travelling,  picnics,  and  school. 

Laundry-work.  —  The  laundering  of  all  forms  of  table  linen. 

Dining-room  Service.  —  Table-laying,  including  decoration  ; 
serving  of  breakfast,  luncheon,  five  o'clock  tea,  and  dinner. 

Suitable  dress. 

The  care  of  silver,  glass,  and  china,  including  the  making  of 
inventories. 

Dish-washing;  the  general  care  of  the  dining-room  ami  pantry. 


DOMESTIC  INDUSTRIES.  477 

The  care  of  lamps  and  candelabra,  and  of  mahogany  and  other 
tables. 

As  far  as  possible  the  work  is  adjusted  to  the  needs  of  the  stu- 
dents in  the  class. 

LAUNDRY-WORK. 

DAT  AND  EVENING  CLASSES. 

The  course  of  lessons  includes  tbe  following  topics  : 

Soap-making. 

Treatment  of  hard  and  soft  water. 

Removal  of  stains,  choice  of  starches  and  bluings. 

Practical  tests  of  various  approved  methods  of  washing. 

Laundering  of  flannels,  table  linen,  bed  and  body  linen,  shirts, 
collars,  and  cuffs ;  also  clear-starching,  and  the  care  and  cleaning 
of  laces  and  colored  embroideries. 

FOOD    ECONOMICS. 

A  demand  for  persons  trained  as  purveyors  for  public  institu- 
tions, hospitals,  and  schools  led  to  the  announcement  of  a  course 
in  Food  Economics,  embracing  the  following  topics  : 

The  selection  of  food  material  with  regard  to  quality  and  cost. 

Methods  of  preparation  in  large  quantities. 

Hygiene,  emergencies,  and  home  nursing. 

Bacteriology  ;  care  of  food. 

Dietetics. 

Serving  —  embodying  general  dining-room  economy. 

Field-work  —  visits  to  public  kitchens  and  to  manufactories  of 
kitchen  and  hotel  furnishings. 

The  Institute  kitchen  and  Lunch-room,  serving  daily  between 
two  and  three  hundred  guests,  provides  the  necessary  laboratory 
facilities. 

This  course  is  intended  for  men  and  women  already  qualified 
for  responsible  positions  by  character  and  practical  experience. 
It  covers  only  three  months,  and  will  be  repeated  each  term,  be- 
ginning in  September,  January,  and  April,  if  there  are  five  appli- 
cants. 

TUITION    FEES. 
DEPARTMENT  OF  DOMESTIC   SCIENCE. 

Normal  Domestic  Science  Course         .     per  term  $25  00       $  — 
General  Course  in  Domestic  Science      .       "    '**         25  00  — 

Food  Economics w     u         25  00  — 


478 


HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 


Special  Courses  : 

Group  I.           .... 

.     per  term 

$20  00 

$  — 

Group  II.          .... 

ft     <i 

15  00 

— 

Group  III 

If         tt 

5  00 

— 

Lectures  on  Marketing  . 

t<         11 

10  00 

— 

Bacteriology  ..... 

If        if 

10  00 

— 

Emergencies  and  Home  Nursing     . 

tf      «( 

10  00 

4  00 

Public  Hygiene       .... 

((      <« 

3  00 

— 

Cookery  : 

Girls'  Saturday  morning  class 

ft       ft 

2  00 

— 

Technical  Class 

tf       f-f 

15  00 

4  00 

Nurses'  Course 

"    " 

5  00 

3  00 

Cooks'  Courses 

tt          If 

— 

2  00 

Waitresses'  Course . 

it      it 

10  00 

5  00 

Laundry-work         .... 

ft       ft 

3  00 

2  00 

Private  Lessons       .... 

each 

2  00 

2  00 

Domestic  happiness,  thou  only  bliss 
Of  Paradise  that  has  survived  the  fall ! 


Cowper. 


HOME    WAGE-EARNINQ.  479 


CHAPTER   XL. 


HOME    WAGE-EARNING. 


Among  the  numerous  fields  of  labor  for  women  none 
have  awakened  a  more  widespread  interest  or  are  of 
greater  importance  to  the  health  and  welfare  of  the 
family  and  the  nation  than  that  of  domestic  science  — 
the  science  of  household  management.  —  Mary  J.  Lincoln. 

More  than  one  of  such  women  have  undertaken  the 
one  thing  which  they  knew  how  to  do  well,  and  have 
embarked  in  the  cooking  of  cake  and  pies  and  the 
preserving  of  fruits  as  the  only  means  at  command  for 
driving  the  wolf  from  the  door.  Many  are  now  engaged 
in  this  calling  in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  success 
of  some  of  them  is  well  known.  — "  What  Women  can 
Earn." 

Naturally  the  principal  number  of  those  who  cook 
specially  fine  and  wholesome  articles  of  food  for  the 
market  live  in  the  large  cities.  Those  who  do  not,  but 
who  carry  on  their  business  operations  in  a  country  town, 
must  nevertheless  look  to  the  cities  for  their  market. 
The  Woman's  Exchange  takes  a  considerable  part  of  the 
product  of  these  private  bakeries  and  canneries,  and, 
indeed,  except  for  these  admirable  helps  to  practical 
cooks  of  the  class  referred  to,  only  a  small  percentage  of 
the  latter  would  be  able  to  do  business  at  all.  They  are 
so  minutely  occupied  with  the  duty  of  producing  the 
articles   themselves,    or   in   superintending    a   force    of 


480  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

cooks,  that  some  of  them  have  little  opportunity  to 
create  a  circle  of  buyers  who  will  take  what  they  have 
to  sell.  —  "  What  Women  can  Earn" 

Miss  Martin,  known  in  all  the  Eastern  States,  carried 
on  her  very  successful  enterprise  at  Willow  Brook,  a 
farm  occupied  by  the  family  during  its  prosperous  days, 
on  Owasco  Lake,  near  Auburn,  N.  Y.  Here  she  developed 
an  industry  in  the  making  of  wonderful  pies,  cakes,  and 
preserves  which  extended  as  far  as  New  York  City  and 
into  other  States.  At  one  time  she  was  able  to  give 
constant  occupation  to  about  fifteen  cooks.  — "  What 
Women  can  Earn" 

Other  women  have  followed  Miss  Martin's  example, 
and  such  as  have  had  her  admirable  executive  ability  have 
earned  a  comfortable  support,  not  only  for  themselves, 
but  in  some  cases  for  others  dependent  upon  them.  A 
woman  acting  alone,  with  the  aid  of  one  cook,  if  she  is 
a  master  of  her  calling,  can  earn  from  $15  to  $25  a 
week  by  the  sale  of  her  product  at  the  women's  exchanges, 
provided  that  the  market  is  not  overstocked.  Such 
earnings  are  possible  only  in  a  large  city,  however, 
although,  so  far  as  that  is  concerned,  a  smaller  sum  in  a 
smaller  city  is  likely  to  yield  an  equally  good  support, 
owing  to  the  reduced  expenses  of  living  in  the  smaller 
community.  —  "  What  Women  can  Earn." ' 

In  coming  to  the  United  States  from  South  America 
I  am  astonished  to  find  how  high  is  the  price  of  butter, 
and  the  question  arises  in  my  mind,  Why  do  not  more 
women  go  in  for  dairying  ?  It  would  be  mere  play  for  a 
woman  in  this  country,  with  all  its  facilities,  compared 
with  the  task  I  undertook  and  carried  out  successfully 
for   four  years  in  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  I  think 


ROME   WAGE-EARNING.  481 

that  a  woman  in  the  United  States  beginning  such  a 
business  could  well  apply  my  experience.  —  lone  A.  Van 
Gorder. 

.  Being  a  city-bred  American  girl  to  begin  with,  such  a 
life  as  I  found  myself  enjoyiug  was,  before  I  took  up 
my  residence  on  the  Argentine,  as  sealed  knowledge  to 
me.  Seeking  health  a  hundred  miles  from  civilization, 
out  on  the  plains  in  a  forgotten  corner  of  the  Province 
of  Entre  Eios  I  drifted  into  a  "  cowgirl "  life  and  dairy 
work  almost  without  knowing  it,  and  soon  became  so 
interested  that  all  else  was  forgotten.  —  lone  A.  Van 
Gorder. 

Starting  with  fifty  cows  as  a  nucleus,  I  had  the  day  I 
left  over  one  thousand  milch  cows,  besides  many  calves, 
and  I  myself  superintended  all  the  dairy  work.  —  lone 
A.  Van  Gorder. 

A  Virginia  woman  who  owns  a  small  piece  of  land 
has  become  interested  in  the  business  of  raising  sheep. 
She  started  on  a  capital  of  $25,  and  with  this  sum  she 
purchased  sheep  at  $3  a  head.  She  raised  as  many  as  she 
could  care  for  on  the  land,  disposing  of  the  rest  as  soon 
as  they  were  old  enough.  She  devoted  about  an  hour 
each  day  to  their  care,  and  paid  a  boy  a  small  sum  a 
week  to  keep  the  sheds  in  order ;  she  is  now  able,  after 
five  years,  to  clear  over  $450  annually.  —  "  What  Women 
can  Earn." 

Mrs.  Sarah  Moultrie,  living  near  San  Jos£,  Cal.,  is  an 
authority  on  the  drying  and  curing  of  apricots  and 
prunes.  Each  season  she  oversees  the  preparing  for 
market  of  many  tons  of  these  varieties  of  fruit.  She 
has  passed  through  all  the  principal  changes  of  California, 


482  HELPS  FOB   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

and  has  done  much  of  the  work  both  of  heart  and  hand 
that  falls  to  a  woman  in  a  new  country.  The  long  and 
perilous  trip  across  the  plains  filled  her  with  a  desire 
to  own  a  home,  and  she  still  possesses  the  many  acres 
bought  in  those  early  days  for  almost  nothing.  —  "  What 
Women  can  Earn" 

The  "fish  ladies "  is  the  title  bestowed  upon  two 
young  girls  who  move  constantly  in  the  best  society 
circles  of  Auburn  Park.  The  rearing  of  goldfish  is  the 
unusual  mode  of  bread-winning  hit  upon  by  these  young 
women,  and  they  find  that  the  occupation  proves  more 
and  more  satisfactory  and  remunerative  as  time  goes  on. 
At  first  the  goldfish  were  taken  from  the  little  parlor 
aquarium  and  put  in  a  tub,  more  and  more  being  added 
gradually,  until  now  there  are  a  number  of  large  tubs  in 
a  little  glass  house  in  the  back  yard,  and  over  one  thou- 
sand fish  undergoing  propagation.  —  "  What  Women  can 
Earn:' 

I  knew  a  lady  in  Connecticut  whose  strawberries 
brought  the  best  prices  of  any  in  the  country,  and  she 
sold  from  a  hired  piece  of  ground  six  hundred  dollars' 
worth  in  one  year.  What  she  could  not  market,  she 
canned  or  preserved.  —  Crabtre. 

"My  mother,"  said  an  energetic,  capable  young 
woman,  "  taught'  her  girls  to  do  everything.  She  said 
we  need  never  lack  for  bread  if  we  knew  all  the  house- 
hold industries."  The  expression  is  a  good  one,  "  the 
household  industries,"  and  seems  to  elevate  what  we  are 
disposed  to  look  upon  as  menial  service.  —  "  How  Women 
may  Earn  a  Living"  by  Helen  C.  Candee. 

I  know  of  one  woman  who  built  up  a  large  custom  in 
cleaning  lamps  and  filling  them  neatly,  going   two  or 


HOME   WAGE-EARNING.  483 

three  times  a  week ;  another  who  took  entire  care  of  the 
family  mending  for  half  a  dozen  houses  ;  one  who  baked 
beans  every  Saturday,  delivering  them  on  Saturday 
night,  on  her  way  to  the  post-office ;  another  who  made 
salad-dressing  by  the  gallon,  and  sold  it  among  people 
who  could  better  afford  to  pay  her  a  quarter  of  a  dollar 
a  pint  for  it  than  to  undertake  to  make.it  and  perhaps 
spoil  the  ingredients ;  one  woman  took  in  proofreading, 
while  still  another  made  a  specialty  of  doing  up  fine  laces. 
Another  hulled  corn  and  sold  it  at  ten  cents  a  quart ;  and 
another  put  up  fruit,  going  by  the  day,  hour,  or  charging 
by  the  can,  according  to  what  had  to  be  done.  —  u  What 
shall  I  do  ?  v  by  John  Sidney  Stoddard. 

First  look  over  your  stock  of  accomplishments  and  see 
what  you  can  do  best,  and  try  to  turn  that  to  your  ad- 
vantage ;  see  if  you  cannot  make  it  pay  you  something. 
—  "  Occupations  for   Women." 

The  great  trouble  underlying  the  whole  system  of 
wage-earning  is  that,  as  a  rule,  many  girls,  as  well  as 
women,  are  not  willing  to  do  what  they  can.  Their  am- 
bitions have  a  fashion  of  outrunning  their  abilities,  and 
then  follows  a  series  of  mortifying  failures,  that  make 
the  workers  feel  that  they  are  not  appreciated,  and  they 
grow  bitter  and  discouraged  and  complain  that  they  are 
not  well  treated  and  that  the  hand  of  the  world  is  raised 
persistently  against  them.  This  is  nonsense.  There  is 
something  they  can  do  in  the  line  of  useful  art,  and  you 
know  it  is  quite  impossible  that  the  whole  world  shall 
be  purely  decorative.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women." 

It  happened  one  autumn  day,  as  she  was  making  a 
special  kind  of  pickle  which  was  liked  by  all  her  friends 
who  had  the  good  fortune  to  taste  it,  one  of  her  neigh- 


484  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS  GIRLS. 

bors  ran  in  for  an  informal  call.  The  newcomer  com- 
mented on  the  pickles,  bewailing  her  own  ill  luck  in 
making  them.  It  was  at  this  instant  the  money-making 
idea  came  into  Mrs.  Thornton's  head.  "  I  will  make  some 
for  you,"  she  said,  "  You  want  pickles,  I  want  occupa- 
tion." And  so  the  thing  was  settled,  and  as  soon  as 
others  heard  that  she  was  willing  to  undertake  the  work 
they  came  to  her  with  orders,  and  she  found  plenty  of 
pickling  to  do.  Then  came  requests  for  catsups,  sauces, 
and  relishes,  and  she  filled  these  orders.  —  "  Occupations 
for  Women." 

Her  neighborhood  success  set  her  to  thinking  seri- 
ously, and  during  the  winter  she  laid  further  plans.  She 
interviewed  friends  in  Providence  and  took  personal 
orders  for  jellies,  preserves,  pickles,  and  things  of  a  like 
nature,  and  made  arrangements  with  the  Woman's 
Exchange  to  send  her  any  orders  they  might  get,  and  also 
to  take  what  she  might  have  to  spare  on  sale  at  their 
rooms.  The  second  year  her  business  almost  doubled, 
and  now  she  has  all  she  can  do.  —  "  Occupations  for 
Women.'' 

The  girl  who  undertakes  this  must  not  be  afraid  of 
small  beginnings.  One  girl  started  out  with  an  order 
for  one  dozen  glasses  of  quince  jelly.  This  was  followed 
by  an  order  for  half  a  dozen  bottles  of  tomato  pickle. 
That  was  the  whole  of  her  first  year's  work.  Now  she 
makes  enough  to  pay  her  way  through  the  art  school  in 
the  winter.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women" 


PHOTOGRAPHY.  485 


CHAPTER   XLL 


PHOTOGRAPHY. 


"Photography  is  a  mass  of  detail  to  which  few  men  are  fitted,  and,  at 
the  best,  are  never  equal  to  women."  —  Geo.  G.  Bockwood. 

The  excellent  photographic  work  done  every  day  by 
girls  and  women  is  such  all-sufficient  proof  of  woman's 
ability  as  a  photographer  that  argument  on  that  point  is 
unnecessary.  Much  of  this  work,  it  is  true,  is  done  by 
amateurs,  and  for  pleasure ;  but  what  woman  can  do  for 
pleasure  she  can  do  for  profit.  It  has  often  been  asserted 
that  this  business  should  naturally  go  into  the  hands  of 
women,  because  the  greater  number  of  the  photographer's 
patrons  are  women  and  children.  The  men  photogra- 
phers do  not  take  this  view  of  the  situation,  but  they 
have  no  monopoly  of  the  business.  There  are  already 
many  women  photographers,  and  there  is  work  for  many 
more. 

In  considering  this  for  an  occupation,  you  will  desire 
to  know  at  the  outset  what  the  chances  are ;  and  here, 
as  elsewhere,  the  chances  depend  largely  upon  yourself. 
Chances  do  not  step  up  and  wait  for  you  to  tie  ribbons 
around  their  necks ;  you  have  to  go  out  and  find  them, 
and  seize  them  when  they  are  found.  They  lie  mainly 
in  these  directions :  in  working  for  some  professional 
photographer,  in  opening  a  gallery  of  your  own,  or  in 
taking  up  some  specialty  that  can  be  made  profitable. 

Let  us  consider  these  in  their  order.  For  making  a 
start  in  the  business,  nothing  is  as  good  as  the  first: 
finding  employment  with  some  good  photographer.     It 


486  HELPS   FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

has,  to  begin  with,  the  advantage  of  giving  an  income 
instead  of  requiring  the  outlay  of  your  own  money. 
Few  girls  in  photograph  galleries  are  asked  to  begin 
with  less  than  five  dollars  a  week,  and  when  they  be- 
come sufficiently  expert  they  receive  much  more  —  some- 
times as  much  as  twenty  dollars  a  week.  The  working- 
hours  are  short,  generally  from  nine  till  five,  and  the 
work  is  suitable  and  pleasant. 

One  of  the  very  large  galleries  in  the  largest  cities  is 
not  as  well  suited  to  a  learner  as  a  smaller  establish- 
ment, at  least  in  the  beginning.  Every  one  is  always  a 
learner  in  photography,  but  I  use  the  word  here  to  desig- 
nate an  entirely  untaught  employee.  In  all  large  estab- 
lishments the  work  is  necessarily  specialized,  divided 
into  departments  ;  and  while  you  may  gain  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  whole  business  by  being  constantly  associated 
with  it,  still  your  own  particular  work  must  be  in  some 
single  branch.  In  a  smaller  place,  on  the  contrary,  you 
get  some  experience  in  every  branch.  You  will  find  this 
the  case  in  nearly  every  trade  or  business.  The  grocery 
man  in  one  of  the  large  department  stores  may  sell 
more  groceries  in  an  hour  than  some  little  country  grocer 
sells  in  a  month,  without  ever  learning  as  much  about  the 
grocery  business  as  the  man  in  the  country,  and  without 
knowing  anything  whatever  about  the  other  departments 
of  the  store.  This  early  schooling  under  a  good  master 
is  invaluable  to  you  in  going  into  the  work  on  your  own 
account.  You  can  pick  up  a  great  part  of  the  knowledge 
for  yourself,  with  your  own  camera  and  materials  ;  but 
not  all  of  it,  unless  you  remain  an  amateur  for  years ; 
and  even  then  at  considerable  cost  to  yourself.  After  a 
good  training  in  a  photograph  gallery  you  can  select 
your  own  tools  of  trade  to  much  better  advantage. 

Some  women  have  made,  and  do  make,  reasonably 
good  incomes  with  photograph  galleries  of  their  own. 


PHOTOGRAPHY.  487 

But  they  are  nearly  always  in  the  large  cities.  There  is 
an  air  of  poverty  about  the  photograph  gallery  in  a  small 
place  that  leads  me  to  suggest  that  you  approach  such  a 
venture  with  some  caution.  Of  course  they  are  not  all 
poor ;  I  mean  taking  them  as  a  class.  And  it  could 
hardly  be  otherwise.  Where  the  whole  number  of*  people 
is  small,  the  number  who  wish  to  be  photographed  must 
be  much  smaller  ;  and  those  who  have  been  "  taken  "  may 
in  general  be  left  out  of  the  count  for  a  year  or  two  at 
least.  The  field  is  too  small  for  a  reasonably  good  crop. 
Whenever  you  find  that  the  people  engaged  in  a  certain 
business  in  certain  localities  are  poor  as  a  class,  it  is  safe 
to  conclude  that  that  business  in  those  neighborhoods  is 
not  profitable.  And  to  open  a  photograph  gallery  in  a 
large  city  requires  more  capital  than  you  should  risk, 
even  if  you  have  it,  without  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
the  work  in  its  business  as  well  as  its  artistic  aspects. 

The  specialty  in  photography  offers  better  inducements 
after  you  have  learned  to  make  a  really  good  and  artistic 
picture.  The  best  specialty  for  you,  the  one  promising 
the  best  results,  is  something  that  you  must  solve  for 
yourself ;  I  can  no  more  select  one  for  you  than  I  could 
give  you  the  plot  of  a  story  to  practise  on  if  you  wished 
to  become  an  author.  If  you  keep  your  eyes  wide  open 
things  will  suggest  themselves  to  you  while  you  are 
learning.  Here  is  one  woman  who  has  reproduced  with 
her  camera  thousands  of  celebrated  paintings  and  engrav- 
ings, and  sold  the  reproductions ;  here  is  another  woman 
who  has  developed  unusual  skill  in  posing  young  children  ; 
here  is  another  who  makes  up  charming  little  scenes  of 
children  at  play,  and  sells  the  pictures  in  schools.  Do 
something,  in  short,  that  other  photographers  do  not  do. 
The  fields  for  such  work  are  multiplying  quite  as  fast  as 
the  artists  to  till  them.  In  the  illustration  of  books  alone 
there  are  amazing  photographic  possibilities. 


488  HELPS   FOB   AMBITIOUS    GIBLS. 

There  is  abundant  chance  for  the  development  of  skill 
and  artistic  feeling  in  the  making  of  a  good  photograph. 
And  there  are  equal  chances  for  distending  the  purse,  if  - 
you  acquire  the  skill  and  use  it  to  advantage.  But  do 
not  imagine  yourself  an  expert  photographer  because 
you  can  make  a  reasonably  good  blue  print.  No  poor 
photographic  work  will  pass  muster  in  this  year  1900. 
Some  of  the  work  done,  even  by  amateurs,  is  almost 
beyond  belief. 

An  assertion  made  by  one  of  the  leading  photographers 
of  New  York  possibly  may  have  a  spark  of  interest  for 
ambitious  girls.  Whether  it  should  be  regarded  as  a 
warning  or  as  an  inducement  is  for  you  to  say  rather  than 
for  me.  This  man  employs  no  women  in  his  gallery, 
and  some  one  asked  him  why. 

"  Because  the  good  ones  are  always  getting  married," 
he  replied. 

Instruction  in  the  retouching  of  negatives  is  given  in 
the  school  of  the  Young  Women's  Christian  Association, 
in  New  York.  Topics  touching  upon  photographic 
matters  are  sometimes  discussed  at  the  meetings  of  the 
Cooper  Union  Chemical  Society,  such  as  "Photographic 
Objectives/'  and  "  Photographic  Positives  and  Formulae." 

"  Or  where  the  pictures  for  the  page  atone, 
And  Quarles  is  sav'd  by  beauties  not  his  own." 

Pope. 


WORK    WITH  THE  CAMERA.  489 


CHAPTER   XLIL 

WORK    WITH    THE    CAMERA. 

In  my  long  career  as  a  photographer  I  think  I  have 
proved  my  faith  by  my  works  in  employing  women  in 
every  department  of  my  business  in  which  they  are 
available  —  everywhere  except  in  the  handling  of  large 
cameras  in  outdoor  work. —  Geo.  G.  Rockwood,  in  li  What 
Women  can  Earn" 

Women  are  peculiarly  fitted  to  occupations  in  which 
there  is  much  detail.  This  is  in  strong  evidence  in  the 
sphere  of  the  household,  where  a  good  household  is  another 
name  for  the  careful  doing  of  many  little  things.  —  Geo. 
G.  Rockwood. 

Photography  is  a  mass  of  detail  to  which  few  men  are 
fitted,  and,  at  the  best,  are  never  equal  to  women.  I 
might  say  that  men  who  are  good  at  small  things  never 
accomplish  great  ones.  —  Geo.   G.  Rockwood. 

In  photography  there*  is  room  for  almost  every  grade 
of  ability,  from  the  simplest  work  of  "  pasting "  the 
photographs  through  to  the  elaborate  finishing  in  water- 
colors,  India  ink,  etc.  —  Geo.    G.  Rockwood. 

Since  the  first  public  exhibition  of  photographs  in 
London  in  1852,  and  especially  since  the  Paris  exposition 
in  1889,  photography  as  an  art  has  steadily  advanced, 
and  in  the  recent  exhibitions  in  European  and  American 


490  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

cities  the  photographs  executed  by  many  women  have 
been  an  inspiration  urging  others  to  enter  the  field.  Not 
only  have  these  women  exhibited  portraits,  but  their 
photographs  of  landscapes,  marine  views,  mineral  and 
vegetable  specimens  have  won  for  them  a  wide  reputa- 
tion. —  "  Occupations  for  Women" 

If  a  man  marries,  it  does  not  necessarily  change  his 
occupation,  but  it  is  ordinarily  an  incentive  to  advance- 
ment in  his  art  or  work.  Women  when  married  rightly 
expect  that  they  are  to  be  no  longer  bread-winners,  and 
rarely  pursue  their  occupations  with  the  earnestness  and 
intensity  that  they  would  if  the  idea  of  marriage  were 
not  constantly  before  them.  —  Rockwood. 

If  women  looked  forward  to  their  occupation  as  a  life 
work  they  would  acquire  a  skill  in  all  departments  of 
photography  to  which  men  could  not  attain.  I  say  this 
in  shame  for  my  own  sex  and  in  thorough  apprecia- 
tion of  our  heaven-blest  gift,  women.  I  am  not  a  celi- 
bate and  am  not  advocating  the  celibacy  of  women,  but 
only  explaining  the  reasons  why  I  think  women  are  not 
almost  solely  used  in  photography.  —  Rockwood. 

The  departments  of  photography  where  intelligent 
girls  can  find  occupation  are  principally  in  the  mounting, 
spotting,  and  finishing  of  photographs.  Here  they 
quickly  learn  the  ordinary  routine  of  the  work  at  salaries 
beginning  at,  say,  $5  a  week,  and  rising  to  two  to  three 
times  that  figure,  depending  upon  their  intelligence,  in- 
dustry, and  memory, —  for  the  latter  element  is  a  desir- 
able one  in  keeping  track  of  orders  without  reference  to 
the  books.  All  the  work  in  this  department  is  light, 
varied,  and  interesting.  The  hours  in  my  establishment 
are  from  9  A.M.  to  5  P.M.  —  Rockwood. 


WORK   WITH   THE  CAMERA.  491 

After  a  sufficient  course  of  study,  from  six  weeks  to 
three  months,  a  term  in  the  practical  working  of  a  photo- 
graphic establishment  brings  the  student  to  a  possible 
living.  Most  photographers  will  loan  rejected  negatives 
for  practice  in  retouching,  if  the  negatives  are  safely  and 
promptly  returned.  —  Rockwood. 

Photography  is  not  learned  in  a  day,  and  photog- 
raphers are  not  born,  any  more  than  are  artists  or  pro- 
fessional men.  To  attain  a  high  excellence  is  the  work 
of  years,  embracing  the  study  of  many  things.  There  is 
no  royal  road  to  success.  After  a  quarter  of  a  century 
I  every  day  learn  something  new,  and  each  day  seek 
greater  excellence.  —  Rockwood. 

One  photographic  gallery  supplies  a  large  community, 
and*  but  few  employees  are  -required  in  the  ordinary 
establishments ;  that  is,  the  proportion  of  photographic 
galleries  is  small  compared  with  any  other  business.  I 
employ  in  the  various  departments  at  the  present  time 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  women,  some  of  whom  have  been 
with  me  for  twenty  years.  —  Rockwood. 

Photography  is  especially  adapted  to  a  woman's 
artistic  taste  and  delicate  touch.  Hundreds  of  women 
might  accomplish  far  more  in  this  occupation  than  at 
present.  —  "Occupations  for  Women." 

The  work  is  not  too  difficult  for  a  woman.  It  is 
acknowledged  to  be  a  fascinating  work,  easily  under- 
stood, requiring  no  superior  knowledge,  and  demanding 
but  a  comparatively  short  time  of  study  and  prepara- 
tion. —  "  Occupations  for   Women." 

Nearly  two-thirds  of  a  photographer's  patrons  are 
women   and   children,    and   a   woman   photographer  of 


492  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

pleasing  manners,  obliging  disposition,  and  artistic  sense 
is  most  successful  in  securing  happy  results  when  the 
critical  moment  of  posing  arrives.  There  is  but  one 
best  position,  one  best  view  of  all  objects.  It  is  ac- 
knowledged that  in  woman  the  artistic  sight  is  more 
perfectly  developed  than  in  man.  This  natural  gift 
enables  her  to  discover  immediately  the  one  best  posi- 
tion—  the  one  best  view  of  her  subject.  — "Occupations 
for  Women." 

Many  years  elapsed  in  the  history  of  photography 
before  the  public  became  assured  of  the  neutral  gifts  in 
women  —  gifts  so  admirably  adapted  to  this  work,  so 
favorably  suited  to  its  success.  The  photographers  in 
several  of  our  cities  were  assured  of  woman's  efficiency 
in  the  work  after  securing  her  aid  in  their  studios.  It 
was  when  thus  employed  as  assistants  that  women  fully 
realized  their  adaptability,  discovered  opportunities  for 
improvement,  and  resolved  to  pursue  the  work  as  a 
profession.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women." 

London  has  the  most  celebrated  woman  photographer 
in  the  world.  Miss  Alice  Hughes,  the  daughter  of 
Edwin  Hughes,  the  portrait  painter,  has  earned  this 
enviable  reputation.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women." 

Miss  Emily  Stokes,  of  Boston,  is  an  example  of  what 
a  woman  may  accomplish  in  photography.  When  com- 
pelled by  misfortune  to  give  up  her  London  home,  she 
came  to  America  to  begin  life  among  strangers.  Having 
been  associated  with  enthusiastic  photographers  in  Eng- 
land, and  believing  that  the  position  could  be  filled  by 
women  as  well  as  men,  she  resolved  to  enter  the  field  as 
a  professional.  For  sixteen  years  she  has  aimed  to  pro- 
duce the  true  child  portrait.     She  has  conquered  difiicul- 


WORK    WITH  THE  CAMERA.  493 

ties,  and  is  an  enthusiastic  and  successful  artist.  "  This 
one  thing  I  know,"  she  said  brightly,  and  it  would  be 
well  if  many  girls  could  say  the  same.  "  I  know  every 
detail  of  the  work.  It  is  the  only  way  to  success,"  she 
added,  as  she  glanced  about  the  room  at  the  pictures  of 
sweet  child  faces.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women." 

Some  of  the  most  beautiful  photographs  in  the  United 
States  have  been  produced  by  Miss  Johnston,  of  Wash- 
ington. She  has  attained  a  superior  degree  of  excel- 
lence in  all  her  work.  As  a  professional  she  ranks  among 
the  list  of  leading  photographers  in  the  country.  The 
truthfulness  and  artistic  beauty  in  all  her  photographs 
have  earned  for  her  a  name  preeminent  among  photog- 
raphers. She  has  done  much  work  for  newspapers  and 
magazines.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women." 

The  girl  who  decides  to  leave  the  army  of  amateurs 
and  enter  the  professional  arena  must  feel  assured  that 
she  has  patience,  an  artistic  taste,  determination,  and 
business  ability.  She  must  be  willing  to  inform  herself 
of  the  multitudinous  operations  to  be  performed ;  she 
must  expect  waste  and  loss,  and  she  must  be  able  to  rise 
above  disappointments  and*  trials.  To  be  successful  in 
working  a  four  by  five  outfit  does  not  imply  an  equal 
success  with  an  eighteen  by  twenty-two.  —  "  Occupations 
for  Women." 

The  one  trouble  we  have  had  is  the  lack  of  the  idea  of 
permanency  in  the  work.  Almost  every  young  girl  goes 
into  photography,  as  she  does  into  another  trade  or  busi- 
ness, as  a  stepping-stone  to  matrimony.  This  is  a  handi- 
cap to  her  proper  education  or  fitting  for  the  higher 
branches  of  the  art.  —  Rockwood. 


494  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Too  often  a  girl  thinks  that  if  she  can  buy  a  camera, 
some  plates,  and  a  few  chemicals  she  can  become  a  pho- 
tographer. In  her  mind  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  expose 
the  plate  properly,  develop  it,  print  from  it,  tone  and  fix 
the  prints,  and  then  the  art  will  be  mastered.  She  for- 
gets that  few  can  expose  a  plate  with  perfect  success, 
that  judicious,  painstaking  care  is  necessary  to  develop 
it,  and  that  toning  requires  skill.  — "  Occupations  for 
Women" 

The  girl  who  would  be  a  photographer  should  consider 
her  adaptability  for  the  work,  and,  having  decided  to 
pursue  the  occupation,  she  will  do  well  to  work  with 
some  reliable  firm.  When  once  an  opportunity  is  found 
in  some  photographic  studio,  she  must  work  earnestly 
and  hard  in  learning  the  details.  After  a  short  time  she 
will  obtain  a  position  as  assistant.  If  she  be  on  the  alert 
for  opportunities  she  will,  when  fitted,  find  the  right 
locality,  and  here  build  up  a  business  of  her  own.  — 
"  Occupations  for  Women" 

The  cost  of  materials,  furniture,  rent,  wages,  and  the 
fund  for  emergencies  must  be  considered.  One  young 
woman  of  the  East  fitted  up  a  skylight  for  fifty  dollars. 
The  expense  incurred  will  vary  according  to  the  taste  of 
the  young  woman.  Once  furnished  and  equipped,  the 
subsequent  outlay  is  but  trivial,  and  if  good  work  is 
furnished  the  profits  are  assured.  —  "  Occupations  for 
Women" 


BUSINESS  LIFE.  495 


CHAPTER  XLIIL 


BUSINESS    LIFE. 


"  Thus  I  steer  my  bark,  and  sail 
On  even  keel,  with  gentle  gale." 

Matthew  Green. 

Business  life  is  almost  as  comprehensive  a  subject  as 
a  history  of  the  Egyptian  dynasties,  If  we  were  to 
take  it  up  in  detail,  as  I  should  rather  like  to  do,  you 
would  be  at  least  middle-aged  by  the  time  we  finished, 
and  too  old  to  be  starting  in  any  new  business.  So  we 
must  simply  stand  on  some  convenient  hill-top  and  take 
a  general  glance  at  the  situation. 

The  business  life  that  you  are  specially  interested  in 
is  business  life  for  women.  Now  let  us  see  what  that 
means.  We  have  already  considered  several  kinds  of 
business  life  for  women.  The  woman  lawyer,  the  doctor, 
the  music  teacher,  the  dentist,  the  dressmaker,  the  mil- 
liner, the  photographer,  —  every  one  of  them  is  more  or 
less  in  business  life.  Those  are  only  samples  selected 
from  a  large  number  of  occupations.  Suppose  that  we 
answer  our  own  question  by  asking  another :  What  busi- 
ness are  men  engaged  in  that  women  cannot  follow  ?  We 
have  to  think  twice  before  we  can  name  a  single  business. 
A  number  of  disreputable  callings  of  course  try  to  make 
themselves  heard,  but  callings  that  disgrace  men  are 
not  to  be  considered  for  women.  Such  things  as  book- 
making,  pool-selling,  bucket-shop  keeping,  are  not  busi- 
nesses ;  they  are  only  devices  for  seizing  the  money  that 
other  people  have  earned.     Liquor-selling  ?    I  will  join 


496  HELP S   FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

you  in  thanking  your  lucky  stars  that  we  live  in  a  country 
in  which  men  have  too  much  respect  for  women  to  allow 
them  to  degrade  themselves  by  selling  liquor.  English- 
men are  satisfied  to  let  girls  pour  out  their  sixpence' 
worth  of  Scotch  whiskey,  entertaining  them  with  choice 
conversation  while  they  pour;  but  Americans  have 
higher  ideals  of  women,  and  will  not  permit  it.  The 
bar-maid  experiment  has  been  tried  more  than  once  in 
New  York,  but  each  time  public  opinion  has  stamped  it 
out  before  the  police  could  interfere.  We  have  better 
uses  for  bright  American  girls. 

Try  to  think  of  one  reputable  business  in  which  men 
engage  that  is  not  equally  open  to  women  —  in  which 
men  engage  as  proprietors,  I  mean.  Of  course  there  are 
some  salaried  occupations  that  are  unsuitable  for  women. 
You  would  not  care  to  be  a  brakeman  (shall  we  say 
brakewoman  ?  )  on  a  coal  train,  for  instance,  nor  a  dig- 
ger with  picks  in  a  coal  mine.  But  if  you  have  sufficient 
business  ability  your  sex  will  not  prevent  you  from 
owning  the  railroad,  or  the  coal  mine,  which  is  much 
better.  Most  girls  would  not  care  to  shoe  a  horse 
(though  some  do),  but  it  is  more  profitable  to  own  the 
shop  and  employ  a  mere  man  to  do  the  shoeing.  You 
do  not  care  to  be  a  climber  of  church  steeples,  but  you 
can  take  contracts  for  such  work. 

It  is  not  only  true  that  the  entire  business  field  is 
open  to  you,  but  also  that  you  can  go  into  any  reputable 
business  without  attracting  undue  attention  to  yourself. 
People  are  accustomed  now  to  seeing  women  engage  in 
business.  Women  are  everywhere  in  business  life ; 
thousands  of  them  engage  in  affairs  that  very  likely  you 
have  never  even  heard  of.  There  are  many  women  in 
the  large  cities,  as  doubtless  you  know,  who  are  proud  of 
the  rapid  development  of  woman's  work,  and  who  take 
pains  to  keep  informed  of  all  the  new  fields  tilled  by 


BUSINESS  LIFE.  497 

women.  A  few  days  ago  I  asked  one  of  these  well- 
informed  women  to  make  me  a  list  of  new  occupations 
into  which  women  have  made  their  way  within  the  last 
ten  years.  Here  is  the  list  she  gives  me,  made  in  a  few 
moments  from  memory : 

Civil  engineering,  mining  engineering,  architecture, 
bacteriology,  veterinary  surgery,  dentistry,  barbering, 
chemistry,  tea-tasting,  food  laboratory-work,  scale-making, 
gem-cutting,  watchmaking,  jewelled  glass-work,  book- 
binding, book-illuminating,  frog-farming,  "angora-cat- 
teries," Japan  spaniel  raising,  making  pineapple  wine, 
guava-jelly  making,  fig-preserving,  teaching  remedial 
gymnastics,  teaching  kindergarten  teachers,  model-mak- 
ing, pharmacy,  making  chewing-gum,  moccasin-mak- 
ing, celluloid-carving,  pneumatic  glass-decorating,  pyrog- 
raphy,  trout-raising,  keeping  porgy-pounds,  terrapin- 
farming,  prune-finishing,  coffee-blending,  tele-photograph- 
ing, blowpipe  assaying,  gold-mining,  copper-prospecting, 
art  photography,  practising  criminal  law,  making  of 
enamel  jewelry,  dermatology,  chiropody,  bird -doctoring, 
taxidermy,  insect-mounting,  micrometry,  preparing  min- 
eral cabinets,  machine-embroidering,  jacquard-designing, 
doing  filigre-work,  aluminum-chasing,  peptone-making, 
flower-preserving,  electrolytic  goldsmithery,  photo-spec- 
troscopy,  making  essential  oils,  fossil-restoration,  Assyrio- 
logy,  and  cat-hospital  keeping,  and  acting  as  chaperones, 
couriers,  and  interpreters. 

Among  all  these  occupations  you  may  find  one  for 
which  you  are  specially  adapted  ;  and  if  you  do  not,  no 
need  to  despair  yet,  for  the  list  might  be  made  ten  times 
as  long. 

Without  saying  that  you  need  a  collegiate  education 
to  become  a  successful  grocer,  let  me  suggest  to  you 
that  education  and  business  ability  are  very  closely  re- 
lated.    Fifty  or  sixty  years  ago  the  woman  in  business 


498  HELPS  FOR  AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

was  an  anomaly.  Not  because  women  did  not  need 
money  then,  but  because  they  did  not  know  how  to  make 
it.  They  needed  training.  The  first  co-educational  col- 
lege in  the  country,  that  is,  a  college  in  which  both  boys 
and  girls  were  taught,  was  opened  in  Oberlin,  Ohio,  in 
1833.  The  first  college  for  women  only  was  opened  in 
Mt.  Holyoke,  Mass.,  in  1837.  It  was  in  1848  that  women, 
having  then  some  leaven  of  higher  learning  among  them, 
began  to  demand  the  right  of  suffrage.  And  now  that 
women  have  fairly  taken  hold  of  business  life,  where  do 
they  get  their  training  ?  Of  the  five  hundred  universi- 
ties and  colleges  in  the  country,  three  hundred  and  fifty 
are  co-educational,  fifty  are  for  women  only,  and  only  one 
hundred  are  exclusively  for  males.  That  accounts  pretty 
well  for  the  general  training  of  women ;  but  what  about 
the  professional  training  ?  Of  the  nine  hundred  pro- 
fessional schools,  theological,  legal,  medical,  dental,  phar- 
macal,  architectural,  and  so  on,  one  hundred  are  co-edu- 
cational, three  hundred  and  eighty  are  for  women  only, 
and  four  hundred  and  twenty  are  for  men  only.  Cer- 
tainly the  women  have  a  good  showing  in  that  list.  Of 
the  two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  students  in  American 
colleges,  universities,  and  professional  schools  this  year, 
one  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  are  young  men,  and 
fifty  thousand  are  ambitious  girls.  Is  it  any  wonder 
that  women  are  in  almost  every  business,  almost  every 
profession?  And  do  you  see  that  their  being  fitted  for 
all  these  occupations  has  any  connection  with  the  vast 
educational  facilities  ?  Education  is  not  wisdom  ;  but  it 
helps  us  toward  it. 

Naturally  you  will  say  that  your  own  case  is  not  af- 
fected by  the  many  women  in  business  —  that  it  is  not 
the  other  woman,  but  yourself,  that  you  are  anxious 
about.  I  can  hardly  advise  you  about  opening  a  fancy 
store  in  Ambitionville  without  knowing  something  about 


BUSINESS  LIFE.  499 

the  place,  the  stores  already  in  it,  and  particularly  some- 
thing about  your  own  business  ability.  But  I  can  assure 
you  that  your  chances  will  be  just  as  good  as  those  of 
any  man  of  equal  capital  and  ability.  Better,  perhaps, 
for  in  some  kinds  of  business  women  are  better  than 
men.  You  must  not  expect  people  to  pay  you  ten  cents 
for  a  five-cent  spool  of  thread,  because  you  are  a  woman. 
Women  have  long  demanded  equal  treatment  in  business, 
and  now  they  have  it ;  exactly  equal  treatment,  and  that 
means,  for  one  thing,  that  your  fellow-man  or  fellow- 
woman  will  take  advantage  of  you  in  a  bargain  when- 
ever he  or  she  can.  With  equal  chances  in  other  re- 
spects, you  must  expect  an  equal  chance  with  any  man 
to  be  cheated  occasionally.  The  more  you  know  about 
business  affairs  and  about  life,  the  less  your  danger  of 
such  losses.  And  after  selecting  your  business,  go  into 
it  by  the  back  door.  Do  not  try  to  begin  in  the  proprie- 
tor's chair.  It  is  much  safer  to  work  your  way  from  the 
back  door  up  to  the  business  office,  than  to  begin  in  the 
office  and  let  the  sheriff  escort  you  out  by  the  back  door 
in  the  end. 

DesDatch  is  the  soul  of  business.  —  Chesterfield. 


500  HELPS   FOR   AMBITIOUS    GIRLS. 


CHAPTER   XLIY. 

HELPS     FOR     BUSINESS     ASPIRANTS. 

Choose  a  business  that  you  are  acquainted  with  the 
details  of,  for  which  you  have  sufficient  capital,  for 
which  you  have  a  taste  or  liking,  and  which  gives  promise 
of  making  something  more  than  simply  a  living.  —  Sam- 
uel H.  Terry,  in  "How  to  Keep  a  Store." 

It  is  a  prevalent  idea  among  men  that  are  not  very 
prosperous  in  their  occupation  that  any  other  business  is 
better  than  the  one  in  which  they  are  engaged.  Those 
who  are  ever  ready  to  act  on  this  idea,  and  make  frequent 
changes,  generally  remain  poor  through  life. —  Terry. 

Wealth  is  rarely  accumulated  in  any  other  way  than  by 
persistent  and  continuous  efforts  in  one  direction;  and 
then  it  may  seem  long  to  the  anxious  expectant  before 
the  reward  comes.  Spasmodic  and  speculative  efforts  to 
expedite  it  often  do  more  to  retard  than  to  hasten  it,  by 
diverting  the  attention  from  the  sober  and  practical  rou- 
tine of  details  essential  to  success,  and  causing  them  to 
seem  dull  and  plodding. —  Terry. 

No  prudent  man  would  embark  in  a  business,  expect- 
ing success,  if  unfamiliar  with  the  details,  or  with  in- 
sufficient capital.  And  though  he  may  have  sufficient 
knowledge  and  capital,  if  the  business  is  one  that  is  dis- 
tasteful to  him  in  many  of  its  details,  or  if  with  all  his 
skill  and  capital  he  can  only  succeed  in  making  a  living, 


HELPS   FOB  BUSINESS  ASP  IB  ANTS.  501 

he  will  soon  become  lukewarm  and  irresolute  in  conduct- 
ing it,  and  thus  make  it  less  profitable. —  Terry. 

Absolute  losses  in  business  are  generally  the  result  of 
ignorance.  Every  reader  of  this  who  has  been  in  busi- 
ness will  concur  with  the  assertion  that  fully  nine-tenths 
of  the  losses  he  met  with  therein  arose 'from  his  igno- 
rance of  something  which  he  could  previously  have  known. 
—  Terry. 

While  actual  and  specific  losses  in  business  are  mainly 
the  result  of  ignorance,  it  sometimes  happens  that  the 
most  carefully  managed  business  will  fail  of  profitable 
result  from  want  of  sufficient  capital.  Hence  the  amount 
of  means  which  any  person  has  to  put  in  must  be  kept  in 
view  in  the  selection  of  the  business. —  Terry. 

Every  business  requires  a  certain  amount  of  stock  to  be 
kept  on  hand.  This  must  either  be  paid  for  in  cash,  re- 
quiring that  amount  of  capital,  or  must  be  bought  on 
credit,  and  for  which  the  dealer  will  be  indebted.  Com- 
monly it  is  partly  paid  for  in  cash,  and  partly  owed  for. 
But  as  the  fact  of  owing  for  it  implies  the  necessity  of 
obtaining  credit  for  the  amount,  and  as  a  man's  credit 
will  depend  very  much  upon  his  capital,  it  follows  that 
the  amount  of  his  cash  must  be  considered,  even  when  he 
buys  partly  or  wholly  on  credit.  Those  who  trust  him 
will  at  least  consider  it,  if  the  dealer  does  not,  and  will 
require  that  it  shall  be,  in  their  opinion,  adequate  to  the 
business.  —  Terry. 

We  are  more  apt  to  see  the  pleasant  side  of  a  business 
when  we  look  at  it  simply  from  the  outside.  The  dis- 
agreeable work  has  to  be  done  in  the  back  room.  — 
Terry. 


502  HELPS  FOB  AMBITIOUS   GIBLS. 

Much  of  the  pleasure  derived  from  any  business  is 
found  in  the  profitableness  of  it,  and  therefore  when  the 
best-loved  business  ceases  to  be  profitable,  with  most 
men  it  ceases  to  be  pleasant.  —  Terry. 

A  business  ought  to  be  selected  in  which  there  is  a 
prospect  of  making  more  than  a  mere  living.  Let  the 
dealer's  aim  be  to  accumulate  something  for  that  period 
of  life  when  age  may  unfit  him  for  procuring  a  liveli- 
hood. —  Terry. 

Something  can  always  be  premised  of  the  profitable- 
ness of  a  business  by  the  success  or  experience  of  others 
in  a  similar  business,  and  probably  the  most  of  those 
who  now  commence  a  new  undertaking  found  their  ex- 
pectations upon  the  successful  career  of  some  acquaint- 
ance. —  Terry. 

Good  taste  is  a  rare  thing  in  trade,  and  yet  it  is  an 
essence  which  commands  a  good  price.  Good  taste  can 
be  exercised  not  only  in  the  selection  of  goods,  but  in 
the  decoration  and  arrangement  of  the  shop  itself. — 
Helen   C.    Candee. 

Where  shall  that  woman  go  who  is  not  satisfied  to 
have  her  shirt-waists  or  her  bonnets  repeated  on  the 
shoulders  and  heads  of  the  wives  of  Tom,  Dick,  and 
Harry?  Where  shall  she  go  to  find  tasteful,  exclusive 
styles,  at  a  moderate  cost  ?  The  woman  who  answers  this 
question  by  the  goods  in  her  little  shop  speaks  elo- 
quently to  a  large  and  eager  audience.  —  Helen  C. 
Candee. 

"  If  I  should  fail  in  my  business,"  said  the  head  of  a 
boudoir-like  shop,  "  I  should  know  it  was  my  own  fault. 


HELPS  FOB  BUSINESS  ASPIBANTS.  503 

There  is  room  for  such  shops  as  mine,  and  their  success 
all  depends  upon  the  ability  and  enterprise  of  their  pro- 
prietor."—  Helen  C.  Candee. 

It  is  a  fact  noticed  by  all  business  women  that  although 
a  large  social  acquaintance  helps  in  making  a  start,  the 
best  customers  are  those  who  are  only  known  in  business 
relations.  It  is  from  this  latter  class  that  one  can  best 
judge  of  the  worth  of  one's  wares.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

In  our  social  relations  we  are  flattered,  cajoled,  and  ex- 
cused, but  once  we  are  in  the  cold  ranks  of  trade  and 
receiving  money  for  our  wares  or  our  industry,  the  re- 
cipient's eye  becomes  critical.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 

The  number  of  women  who  are  successfully  managing 
large  business  houses  or  manufacturing  concerns  in  the 
United  States  is  not  large,  but  it  is  annually  growing. 
Those  women  who  have  taken  such  positions  have  usually 
been  forced  into  them,  in  a  way,  but  they  have  almost 
invariably  proved  successful.  —  " Occupations  for  Womeri." 

Mrs.  Harriet  G-.  Minot  is  another  woman  who  success- 
fully runs  a  factory,  hers  being  a  large  woolen  factory  in 
Vermont,  which  came  to  her  from  her  father  as  a  losing 
venture.  But  she  does  more  than  that.  She  owns  four 
of  the  principal  bakeries  in  Boston,  and  she  personally 
sees  that  they  are  properly  managed.  She  is  up  at  four 
every  morning,  and  sometimes  gets  in  town  before  her 
employees  open  the  shops  at  six  o'clock.  She  hires  all 
her  own  help  and  attends  personally  to  the  pay-roll  and 
its  duties.  She  is  one  of  the  busiest  women  in  the 
world  ;  but  if  you  were  to  see  her  at  her  club,  at  home, 
or  in  society  you  would  never  dream  you  were  beholding 
an  up-to-date  business  woman  of  the  period.  —  "  Occupa- 
tions for  Women." 


504  HELPS  FOR   AMBITIOUS   GIRLS. 

Many  instances  in  New  York  could  be  cited  where 
women  have  succeeded  as  business  managers.  A  notable 
one  is  that  of  a  young  gentlewoman  who  is  not  only  the 
working  manager  but  the  real  owner  of  a  large  and 
successful  photograph  establishment  in  Fifth  avenue, 
although  her  name  does  not  appear.  She  began  at  the 
bottom  round  of  the  ladder  and  rose  step  by  step  to  the 
top.  —  "  Occupations  for  Women" 

A  man  who  cannot  mind  his  own  business  is  not  to  be 

trusted  with  the  king's.  —  Saville. 

> 

To  men  addicted  to  delights,  business  is  an  interrup- 
tion ;  to  such  as  are  cold  to  delights,  business  is  an  enter- 
tainment. For  which  reason  it  was  said  to  one  who  com- 
mended a  dull  man  for  his  application,  "  No  thanks  to 
him  :  if  he  had  no  business,  he  would  have  nothing  to 
do."  —  Steele. 

He  had  talents  equal  to  business,  and  aspired  no  higher. 
—  Tacitus. 

Make  a  searching  self-examination,  especially  on  the 
points  of  application,  courage,  determination,  business 
instinct,  and  if  you  can,  without  self-deception,  fill  in  the 
papers  with  high  marks,  then  take  up  the  all-impor- 
tant subject  of  capital,  without  which  it  is  impossible  to 
go  into  business.  Confer  with  some  sound  business  man 
as  to  your  probable  expenses  and  the  manner  of  procur- 
ing the  money  if  you  have  it  not  already.  But  in  addi- 
tion to  this,  prowl  around  and  see  what  your  own  un- 
aided estimate  would  be.  For  data  look  up  rents  of  a 
suitable  office  or  shop,  inquire  as  to  the  pay  of  the  em- 
ployees you  would  need,  and  learn  the  cost  of  a  stock  of 
materials.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 


HELPS  FOB  BUSINESS  ASPIBANTS.  505 

A  necessary  part  of  the  equipment  for  trade  is  a  knowl- 
edge of  book-keeping.  This  is  a  branch  of  arithmetic 
that  women  ordinarily  ignore,  but  the  woman  in  business 
needs  it  from  the  day  she  starts.  The  cost  of  learning 
is  slight,  and  tuition  can  be  had  in  the  evening  as  well 
as  in  the  daytime.  Business  schools  or  colleges  are 
always  to  be  found,  or  if  not,  then  some  practising  book- 
keeper can  give  instruction  in  keeping  books  and  making 
out  bills.  The  teacher  may,  in  some  instances,  even 
have  to  instruct  the  embryo  business  woman  in  ordinary 
check-book  work,  but  this  a  painful  subject,  and  one 
which  has  wandered  into  the  domain  of  the  newspaper 
joker,  so  it  shall  be  immediately  dropped.  —  Helen  C. 
Candee. 

The  next  thing  to  knowing  the  law  is  to  have  a  good 
lawyer  near  by,  not  to  conduct  suits,  but  to  keep  his 
client  from  such  entanglements.  —  Helen  C.  Candee. 


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